Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Google and Microsoft renew efforts against vaccine disinformation

The European Commission published their reports as part of the EU Disinformation Monitoring Programme

Social media and big tech companies are stepping up their game when it comes to fighting disinformation. Just last month, TikTok’s vaccination campaign in Ireland reached 1 million people, while Google Maps can now show vaccination centres in France, Poland, Ireland and Switzerland.

The European Commission published Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Google and Microsoft’s reports on the measures they took against unreliable information in the month of June.

Online platforms are working with governments to fight disinformation

These reports are part of an EU Disinformation Monitoring Programme aimed at countering this phenomenon specifically during the COVID-19 pandemic. They give updated information about what these big companies are doing to better their services during these trying times. 

TikTok reports that it will continue to work with governments on its campaign supporting vaccination. Their campaign in Ireland features student scientist volunteers, providing young people with a source of reliable information about everything from the accuracy of antigen tests to mental health issues that can arise from isolation. The campaign reached over 1 million viewers and got over 20,000 likes last month and the plans are for it to be extended until the end of the year.

Twitter, on the other hand, is currently working on improving its automated machine learning tools, responsible for the removal of harmful content. They are doing this through human reviewers, which will greatly speed up the process, allowing for an accurate bot moderator.

Microsoft has extended their partnership with NewsGuard, allowing all Edge users to take full advantage of the NewsGuard browser extension to receive warning labels about websites that spread unreliable information about COVID-19 and vaccines.

Meanwhile, Google has teamed up with public health authorities to add vaccination locations to Google Maps. Currently, the feature is available in France, Poland, Italy, Ireland and Switzerland.

At the same time, Facebook is running ad campaigns about the benefits of vaccination through authoritative sources. They are also collaborating with Michigan State University to create a mechanism for the reliable identification of deepfakes.

European Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton, was quoted in a press release, saying: “The EU fulfilled its obligation of bringing enough doses for the safe vaccination for every EU citizen. Now, all interested parties need to take action and overcome cautiousness for the vaccine caused by disinformation.”