Nowadays, people rely more on social media platforms for a variety of information. Sometimes the social networks can be really helpful but sometimes they can also play a role in the spread of misinformation. Users now trust the news on social media more as compared in the past and this can help either secure a social platform’s reputation or ruin it forever. The authentication of the content is what makes any platform stand out in the market of competitors.
According to Pinterest, this new search feature will make the platform free from any fake information regarding the vaccines and can display only authenticated content from only leading public health organizations. The aim behind this new search feature is to not display any recommendations or comments on pins that may provide authenticated results. Pinterest is also making this search query free from ads and it is using this approach to make the platform look more responsible with the type of results it displays to users.
If you search for any keyword related to the vaccine, you'll notice that the search results only include information from World Health Organization (WHO), the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Vaccine Safety Net (VSN). Along with with the ban on anti-vax content, this limit in search for vaccine-related content will only help to make the platform display more authenticated result as compared to the past.
Back in March, Facebook also announced its own strategies to stop the spread of anti-vax content on the platform and Twitter also requested its users to look for more reliable information in search results related to vaccine queries.
According to CDC, U.S. is currently experiencing a rise in the number of measles cases that were once declared eliminated and this new strategy by Pinterest is to take a strong action for vaccine-related content because the anti-vax movement has been nothing else than damaging.
The spread of misinformation can put an impact on public health regardless of where the content was found. Pinterest's decision to the limit such search results is probably an effective way to stop the misinformation.
On most of the social media platforms, the majority of the groups have developed their own sources of inputs and only take the information which they choose to believe and block out anything else against that. This same spread of misinformation leads to political division as well which is most likely impossible to stop but the platform can stop the spread of fake news of factual and science-based content and that is what the limit on search results of Pinterest will be doing.
Read next: Pinterest Reveals Details About Effective Pin Classification
Pinterest Limits query of Vaccine related content
Earlier this year, Pinterest banned anti-vax content on its platform to stop its effect on the users. Now, Pinterest is taking another step towards making its platform free from any vaccine-related misinformation by limiting the search results for vaccine-related queries and displaying only content from officially recognized health organizations only.According to Pinterest, this new search feature will make the platform free from any fake information regarding the vaccines and can display only authenticated content from only leading public health organizations. The aim behind this new search feature is to not display any recommendations or comments on pins that may provide authenticated results. Pinterest is also making this search query free from ads and it is using this approach to make the platform look more responsible with the type of results it displays to users.
If you search for any keyword related to the vaccine, you'll notice that the search results only include information from World Health Organization (WHO), the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Vaccine Safety Net (VSN). Along with with the ban on anti-vax content, this limit in search for vaccine-related content will only help to make the platform display more authenticated result as compared to the past.
"This new search experience is now available globally in English on the web and in our mobile apps for iPhone and Android. We look forward to continuing our work with health experts to expand authoritative results on other searches and in more languages.", announced Ifeoma Ozoma, Public Policy and Social Impact Manager at Pinterest.Pinterest is the only platform that took the spread of misinformation seriously, it is not only the first platform to ban anti-vax content but its automated detection system have also been trained to monitor and detect any such content that may spread misinformation and remove it before it even gets seen.
Back in March, Facebook also announced its own strategies to stop the spread of anti-vax content on the platform and Twitter also requested its users to look for more reliable information in search results related to vaccine queries.
According to CDC, U.S. is currently experiencing a rise in the number of measles cases that were once declared eliminated and this new strategy by Pinterest is to take a strong action for vaccine-related content because the anti-vax movement has been nothing else than damaging.
The spread of misinformation can put an impact on public health regardless of where the content was found. Pinterest's decision to the limit such search results is probably an effective way to stop the misinformation.
On most of the social media platforms, the majority of the groups have developed their own sources of inputs and only take the information which they choose to believe and block out anything else against that. This same spread of misinformation leads to political division as well which is most likely impossible to stop but the platform can stop the spread of fake news of factual and science-based content and that is what the limit on search results of Pinterest will be doing.
Bottom Line
If all other social platforms follow similar strategies as of Pinterest then they may easily restrict the flow of misinformation on the internet.Read next: Pinterest Reveals Details About Effective Pin Classification
