Dozens of messages posted on Twitter in recent weeks by American scientists and containing information on Covid-19 have been wrongly reported as disinformation, the Washington Post revealed on Thursday. Some researchers have even seen their account temporarily suspended by mistake.
The blue bird social network, who tested last year the ability for some users to self-report misinforming messages about Covid-19, generally apologized to those affected. “We have determined that the tweet(s) do not violate our Covid-19 Misleading Information Policy and therefore your account should be restored to full functionality,” he told Reuters. one of them.
One in 4 doctors attacked on social networks
The American daily cites many examples of messages that were incorrectly reported: information on how to wear FFP2 masks, official data on the number of Covid deaths in children, studies related to the long Covid, etc. “We know that when information is labeled as false, people are less likely to think it’s accurate, even when it turns out to be true,” said Emily Vraga, associate professor at the University of Minnesota. .
The scientists concerned often had the common point of raising awareness among the general public of the harmful effects of Covid-19, and said they were more often than other victims of harassment. A report published in JAMA Internal Medicine last year found that one in four doctors had been targeted and attacked on social media.