Facebook froze as anti-vaccine comments swarmed users

[dalton99a]

https://apnews.com/article/the-facebook-papers-covid-vaccine-misinformation-c8bbc569be7cc2ca583dadb4236a0613

Facebook froze as anti-vaccine comments swarmed users
By DAVID KLEPPER and AMANDA SEITZ
Oct. 26, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — In March, as claims about the dangers and ineffectiveness of coronavirus vaccines spun across social media and undermined attempts to stop the spread of the virus, some Facebook employees thought they had found a way to help.

By altering how posts about vaccines are ranked in people’s newsfeeds, researchers at the company realized they could curtail the misleading information individuals saw about COVID-19 vaccines and offer users posts from legitimate sources like the World Health Organization.

“Given these results, I’m assuming we’re hoping to launch ASAP,” one Facebook employee wrote, responding to the internal memo about the study.

Instead, Facebook shelved some suggestions from the study. Other changes weren’t made until April.

When another Facebook researcher suggested disabling comments on vaccine posts in March until the platform could do a better job of tackling anti-vaccine messages lurking in them, that proposal was ignored.

Critics say the reason Facebook was slow to take action on the ideas is simple: The tech giant worried it might impact the company’s profits.

[blm]

1. Worried it would upset Putin and Thiel

[RKP5637]

2. Perhaps Facebook's new name should be "Deathbook!" n/t

[ret5hd]

3. Cue the apologists craving contact with their second cousins in-laws.

[The Wizard]

4. Facebook

promoting America's unwiped ass wherever possible.

[Initech]

5. Yup. I made some pro-vaccine comments on Twitter articles.

Did not take long for them to be flooded with anti-vaxxer comments. Needless to say I blocked and reported them all.

I will say this with the utmost sincerity: I hate anti-vaxxers with the fiery passion of 10,000 suns. May they all burn in the hottest of hells.