Coronavirus misinformation is the latest test for social media platforms

Enlarge / It's just you and your devices now, in this socially-distanced world we all live in for the time being. Too bad the misinformation campaigns aren't also all on hold. (credit: Luis Alvarez | Getty Images)

The presidential race has fallen off the top of every front page nationwide in favor of coronavirus coverage, but 2020 is still very much a high-stakes election year. Twitter, Facebook, and Google have all promised to beef up their efforts to let information spread freely while limiting falsehoods and disinformation, but it's a long uphill battle-and with a little more than seven months to go until the election, it's one they do not seem to be winning.

The problem, a report today by The New York Times points out, is that not only are foreign disinformation campaigns in full swing, but the metaphorical calls are also coming from inside the house. Some platforms seem to be handling the challenge better than others.

The Times spoke with several employees at both Facebook and Twitter about how they have to change their tactics endlessly, as their adversaries continually modify their own approaches.

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