'Infodemic' Arbitrators Influence Pandemic Perspectives

The “infodemic” of misinformation about the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus has made it difficult to distinguish accurate information from false and misleading advice, reported The Conversation on August 27, 2020. The problem is that there is no common understanding of what constitutes 'harm.'

In an essay published by SAGE on August 17, 2020, the authors examine some of the key challenges in implementing policies in real-time and at scale, calling for more transparent and nuanced content moderation strategies from social media platforms to increase public trust about the ongoing pandemic.

'The different ways these companies define harm can produce very different results, which undermines public trust in the capacity for tech firms to moderate health information. Social media platforms are never neutral and impartiality is impossible to implement. This is especially the case when the decision to moderate health content extends beyond legal requirements.'