Anti-vaxx propaganda has gone viral on Facebook. Pinterest has a cure
As pressure mounts on Facebook to explain its role in promoting anti-vaccine misinformation, Pinterest tries different approach
On Wednesday morning, Adam Schiff, the powerful chair of the House intelligence committee, joined journalists around the world in a nascent Twitter meme: he searched "vaccine" on Facebook and posted a screenshot of the results.
Schiff's search results were indeed alarming: autofill suggestions for phrases such as "vaccination re-education discussion forum", a group called "Parents Against Vaccination", and the page for the National Vaccine Information Center, an official-sounding organization that promotes anti-vaccine propaganda. And while search results on Facebook are personalized to each user, a recent Guardian report found similarly biased results for a brand new account.
Continue reading...