Introduction

During a speech in February, the director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO) explained how “fake news spreads faster and more easily than this virus, and is just as dangerous.”¹ Indeed, the unprecedented spread of COVID-19 across the globe has sparked a significant new wave of misinformation and disinformation online. In late March, fact-checking organization Snopes was forced to scale back its routine content production, as the amount of misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic overwhelmed its fact-checkers.² By April, a new report came out with analysis on how one-in-three people across Argentina, Germany, South Korea, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States say they have seen false or misleading information on social media linked to the coronavirus.³

The proliferation of misinformation in the time of COVID-19 has also spread harmful claims that unfortunately, appear to have resonated with marginalized communities. African-American communities have disproportionately suffered from the pandemic in some parts of the United States,⁴ and one reason behind this may be that misinformation has perpetuated mistrust and inaction toward public health entities in these communities.⁵ For example, one headline shared on Facebook read, “People Of Color May Be Immune To the Coronavirus Because of Melanin.”⁶ Further, a study indicated that the false belief that the coronavirus was created in a lab was more prevalent among Hispanic and African-Americans than among whites.⁷ The same study concluded that educational attainment is also a factor in being susceptible to misinformation.⁸ Specifically, those with a bachelor’s degree or more education were less likely than those with a high school diploma or less education to say the coronavirus was created in a lab.⁹

In a time when the public must be armed with the most accurate information to combat this pandemic, many internet platforms have developed policies to reduce the spread of (also known as downranking) and remove misleading and inaccurate information related to the virus. In response to the pressure to respond to misinformation and disinformation around this pandemic, Facebook, Google, YouTube, Microsoft, LinkedIn, Reddit, and Twitter announced that they are collaborating with one another and government health agencies in order to promote accurate information around the virus from authoritative sources.¹⁰ The majority of platform efforts during this time have centered on connecting users to authoritative information, moderating and reducing the spread of misleading content, and altering advertising policies to prevent exploitation and the marketing of misleading products and items. Although these efforts are valuable, platforms need to do more to provide transparency and accountability around how these initiatives are being implemented and how they are impacting users and their online expression.

This report will provide an overview of how various internet platforms are individually addressing the rapid spread of COVID-19-related misinformation and disinformation. While this report aims to be comprehensive, it is important to note that platforms’ response efforts to the virus are rapidly changing and expanding, and as a result, this report may not encompass all efforts instituted by these companies. This report concludes by offering recommendations on how these platforms can improve the efficacy of their efforts and also provide greater transparency to their users and the public. The report also includes recommendations on how U.S. policymakers can encourage further accountability and support efforts to combat the spread of misinformation and disinformation during this time.

Editorial disclosure: This report discusses policies by Google (including YouTube) and Facebook (including WhatsApp), both of which are funders of work at New America but did not contribute funds directly to the research or writing of this report. New America is guided by the principles of full transparency, independence, and accessibility in all its activities and partnerships. New America does not engage in research or educational activities directed or influenced in any way by financial supporters. View our full list of donors at www.newamerica.org/our-funding.