Twitter recently intensified its efforts to label and correct misinformation linking 5G to COVID-19, though the company admits it sometimes applied those labels too broadly.
Most conspiracy theories are little more than an annoyance you can scroll past. But the pandemic has amplified fear, pushing some people to act in dangerous and reckless ways.
If you spend time on social media, you’ve likely seen videos of people setting fire to cell towers—many of which aren’t even 5G-enabled. There are online groups that treat these attacks like a competition, tracking which cities have suffered the most damage.
It’s easy to ridicule the notion that radio waves could cause a virus. Yet these beliefs have real and damaging consequences.
Reliable communications are vital during a public-health emergency. For many, a mobile phone is the only connection to family, work, news, and emergency services. While 5G itself poses no risk of causing COVID-19, destroying cell infrastructure can prevent people from calling for help when they need it.
Because of the stakes, many people who would normally ignore fringe claims have engaged with 5G conspiracy theorists online. That’s exhausting and often feels futile, but calling out dangerous falsehoods matters.
In response, Twitter began attaching fact-checking links to tweets asserting a link between 5G and COVID-19, clarifying that there is no causal connection. Those labels were intended for misinformation, but Twitter acknowledges it misapplied them in a number of instances:
Fact-checking has become a heated topic, especially after fact-checks were applied to some of President Trump’s statements. That led to a high-profile reaction: the President issued an executive order urging the FCC to review how social platforms moderate content.
Concerns about bias in fact-checking are legitimate. For fact-checking to be trusted and effective, it must be applied consistently across the political spectrum.
Twitter will likely face further scrutiny as it refines its approach, but it’s encouraging that the company has admitted mistakes and appears willing to adjust its policies going forward.
(Photo by Morning Brew on Unsplash)
Interested in hearing industry leaders discuss topics like this? Consider attending events co-located with the 5G Expo, including IoT Tech Expo, Blockchain Expo, AI & Big Data Expo, and Cyber Security & Cloud Expo World Series, which hold conferences in locations such as Silicon Valley, London, and Amsterdam.