This appeared last week:
Coalition of health, tech experts want big tech to reveal ‘true’ extent of ‘misinformation ’ on COVID-19
By Peter Dinham
A newly formed coalition of health and technology experts is calling on the Australian Parliament to force big tech companies to reveal the true extent of COVID-19 “misinformation”.
In a letter sent to the Australian Parliament on Monday, the coalition warns “unchecked misinformation risks Australia's COVID-19 vaccination efforts”, and they have called on politicians to introduce a Big Tech 'Live List', which details the most popular coronavirus-related material being shared online.
The coalition, led by Reset Australia, includes the Immunisation Coalition, the Immunisation Foundation of Australia, Coronavax and the Doherty Institute.
"Rampant misinformation on social media is hampering Australia’s COVID-19 efforts and may deter widespread take up of the future vaccine," said Chris Cooper, executive director of Reset Australia, the local affiliate of the global initiative working to counter what it says are “digital threats to democracy and society”.
"Social media has supercharged conspiracy theories and misinformation, pushing some people into echo chambers where false information is all they see," says Cooper.
The letter to the Parliament details how public health officials, academics and journalists could use the Live List to track and trace misinformation.
More here:
There is additional coverage here:
Doctors call for new laws to tackle fake vax news
Immunologists say they are playing catch-up with a 'misinformation machine that is always two steps ahead'
25th January 2021
Doctors have joined forces with tech experts in calling for new laws to counter the spread of fake news on vaccination via social media.
Immunologists are part of a coalition wanting social media giants to disclose information on trending COVID-19 material being shared on their sites.
Health experts would then be able to use the 'Live List' to counter false claims.
Digital reform group Reset Australia set up the coalition, which includes tech experts, the not-for-profit Immunisation Foundation of Australia, as well as medical groups such as the Immunisation Coalition, the Doherty Institute and Coronavax.
Fast-spreading vaccine misinformation is a threat to public health and to the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination push, they write in an open letter to all politicians.
More here:
https://www.ausdoc.com.au/news/doctors-call-new-laws-tackle-fake-vax-news
It also seems the Government is listening:
Communications Minister Paul Fletcher backs misinformation code
Communications Minister Paul Fletcher has backed an industry-wise tech giant misinformation code, following mounting calls to mandate “live lists” to assist in identifying increasingly rampant Covid-19 misinformation.
As reported by The Australian on Monday, Reset Australia has written to all federal ministers urging the Australian government to create the lists that could reveal demographic information of people sharing fake news.
The group is backed by a newly formed coalition, including the Doherty Institute and the Immunisation Foundation of Australia and Reset Australia, amid a recent report from US-based non-profit organisation AVAAZ that found that over the past year, content from a global health misinformation network spanning five countries has been viewed an estimated 3.8 billion times on Facebook.
“During Covid-19, we’ve seen first-hand the harm misinformation can cause as it spreads rapidly online,” a spokesman for Mr Fletcher told The Australian.
“It can create public confusion and is particularly harmful to those most vulnerable in our community.
“Following the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s digital platforms inquiry, the government tasked the Australian Communications and Media Authority with overseeing the development of the voluntary code, and expects an industry-wide code to be in place early this year.
Here is the link:
Even more interesting is what Tim Cook the CEO of Apple thinks!
Apple CEO sounds warning of algorithms pushing society towards catastrophe
Tim Cook says there will be consequences to having 'rampant disinformation and conspiracy theories juiced by algorithms'.
By Chris Duckett | January 29, 2021 -- 00:38 GMT (11:38 AEDT) | Topic: Security
Apple CEO Tim Cook has said it is time to face the consequences of having algorithms push users towards more engagement at any cost.
Speaking at the Computers, Privacy, and Data Protection conference on Thursday, Cook said too many companies are asking what they can get away with, rather than what happens if they follow through on boosting metrics.
"At a moment of rampant disinformation and conspiracy theories juiced by algorithms, we can no longer turn a blind eye to a theory of technology that says all engagement is good engagement -- the longer the better -- and all with the goal of collecting as much data as possible," he said.
"What are the consequences of seeing thousands of users join extremist groups, and then perpetuating an algorithm that recommends even more?"
Cook touched on the recent US Capitol riots in Washington, saying the time was over to pretend there are no costs to boosting conspiracy theories and incitements to violence simply because users get engaged.
"It is long past time to stop pretending that this approach doesn't come with a cost -- of polarisation, of lost trust and, yes, of violence," he said.
More here:
To me all this in just a week suggests that the worm has truly turned and that the gig is up for the Craig Kelly’s of the world. We need a regime where the originators and spreaders of lies and untruths are held accountable!
Now would that not be progress!
David.
This sort thing used to be owned by someone who liked lots of cats or talking to pigeons. All for people’s right to an opinion but their is also a civic duty when you have a certain role in society.
ReplyDeleteAnyone who takes health advice from a polititian, especially when it does not agree with the consensus of a wide range of health experts, deserves everything they get, as well as the consequences if others also suffer.
ReplyDeleteHow about those consequences include no medicare or insurance cover and responsibility for the health costs of those they infect?