Facebook and Twitter have failed to protect their users from 43 accounts that have continued to spread dangerous COVID-19 misinformation despite being flagged to the platforms last year by NewsGuard. Out of 85 accounts flagged by NewsGuard for spreading misinformation about the virus at the start of the pandemic, more than half have seen no visible action taken against them by the platforms. Nearly a quarter of them grew, and those that did grow gained over 1 million new followers or likes between them
This long-term failure by the platforms to address known harms caused by their products helps explain why legislators and regulators increasingly are looking to solutions beyond hoping these companies will voluntarily protect their users.
In April 2020, NewsGuard published four reports about COVID-19 misinformation "superspreaders" on Facebook and Twitter in the United States and Europe. These reports highlighted 85 accounts and pages across both platforms that had shared unequivocally false information related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Facebook and Twitter were made aware of these reports after publication, and both received press coverage in which Facebook and Twitter commented on NewsGuard's findings. Yet, as of November 2021, 43 of these accounts were still active and 19 of them saw increases in their number of likes or followers, a NewsGuard review found. All 43 have since spread more false information related to COVID-19.
Facebook and Twitter could take a variety of...
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