The true-performing link on facebook in the US from January to March suggested the COVID-19 vaccine may well be deadly, according to a document launched through the social media tremendous Saturday that identified probably the most typical content on the platform from January to March.
fb has come under heightened scrutiny this 12 months over misinformation about COVID-19 that has been shared on the platform, with President Joe Biden saying past this yr that fb is "killing people." (He later walked returned the feedback.)
prior this week, facebook released a file that identified established content material from April to June, prompting questions over why statistics changed into no longer launched for the primary quarter of the yr. The exact-performing hyperlinks within the Q2 record were often innocent content material, issues like sports, recipes, and animals.
however the ny instances said Friday the Q1 record had been intentionally withheld by means of senior executives for concern of backlash.
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The Q1 document, released the day after The times document, showed the most familiar URL on facebook changed into an editorial posted by the sun-Sentinel and dispensed with the aid of the Chicago Tribune. The story's headline suggested the COVID-19 vaccine can also have brought about the demise of a Florida doctor who died two weeks after getting vaccinated.
A clinical examiner's file later discovered there changed into now not enough facts to assess if the vaccine performed a role in his demise, and an update was added to the story to replicate this.
greater than fifty three million individuals noticed the article in their newsfeed. The record additionally talked about the 19th most established web page on the platform within the first three months of 2021 belonged to The Epoch times, a right-wing, anti-China newspaper that has promoted conspiracy theories.
When reached by means of e mail, facebook directed Insider to a Twitter thread shared by way of spokesman Andy Stone. Stone talked about the article concerning the Florida medical professional, which turned into factually accurate, "does illustrate simply how tricky it's to define misinformation."
Stone additionally talked about fb at the start withheld the Q1 file "because there have been key fixes to the gadget we desired to make," although it turned into unclear what these fixes have been.
"We're guilty of cleaning up our condo a bit of earlier than we invited company," he referred to.
The record launched Saturday spoke of the top 20 most usual hyperlinks on fb account mutually for less than 0.057% of content material views on the platform, which hosts greater than 2.8 billion month-to-month users.
fb talked about it plans to continue releasing quarterly experiences in regards to the platform's most typical content as a part of its efforts to be clear.
Have a information tip? Contact this reporter at kvlamis@insider.com.
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