There\u2019s\nbeen a lot of press lately about the anti-vaxxer movement. Despite Facebook CEO\nMark Zuckerberg\u2019s pronouncement in 2015 that science has validated the\neffectiveness of vaccinations, people searching for vaccination information on\nFacebook and other social media platforms are often directed toward inaccurate\nanti-vaccination propaganda that has no basis in science. Instead, it relies on\nscare tactics to make parents question the effectiveness of vaccines in\npreventing common childhood diseases, prompting the World Health Organization\n(WHO) to name the anti-vaxxer movement as one of its Top 10 global health\nthreats in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some\nnotable online giants are taking steps to clamp down on misinformation that can\ncause real-world harm. Both Facebook and YouTube are scrutinizing information\nposted to their sites that falls under this category more carefully and taking\nsteps to delete anything designed to provoke violence or physical harm. While\nthey don\u2019t specially mention the anti-vaccination movement, it is clear that\ntopic is at the forefront of their concerns. They are right to be proactive:\nWashington state recently declared a public health emergency due to a measles\noutbreak that has spread as a result of misinformation about vaccines on\nvarious social media channels. The problem isn\u2019t confined to the Pacific\nNorthwest, either; WHO states that there has been a 30 percent increase in\nmeasles cases worldwide. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Policing\nthe flow of information is a good first step for companies like Facebook and\nYouTube, but more needs to be done. Algorithms must be modified to direct\npeople toward fact-based information as opposed to propaganda, and more weight\nshould be given to articles that have been reviewed by third-party fact\ncheckers and provide more context. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As\nalways, the best rule of thumb is never to trust everything you read online.\nStick to well-trusted sources and don\u2019t fall for propaganda and hype. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We are fortunate to live in a time where technology has made obtaining information on just about every topic under the sun easy and free. Sadly, the information isn\u2019t always accurate; we\u2019ve all been taught to take Wikipedia entries with a grain of salt, for instance. Because anybody with access to the internet and a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1480,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"schema":"","placeID":"","no_match":false,"name":"","company":"","review":"","address":"","city":"","state":"","zip":"","lat":"","lng":"","phone1":"","phone2":"","fax":"","mon1":"","mon2":"","tue1":"","tue2":"","wed1":"","wed2":"","thu1":"","thu2":"","fri1":"","fri2":"","sat1":"","sat2":"","sun1":"","sun2":"","hours-note":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-digitaltechnology"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n