Originally published September 12, 2023 12:00 pm PDT
Meta Platforms, the parent company of Threads, has implemented a temporary restriction on searches for terms related to “COVID,” “vaccines,” and “coronavirus,” aiming to curb disinformation.
This move was made soon after the company introduced a search function to users in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, India, and the U.K., according to a report from The Washington Post.
While a spokesperson for Meta explained, “The search functionality temporarily doesn’t provide results for keywords that may show potentially sensitive content,” they also claimed that this is only a temporary measure.
“People will be able to search for keywords such as ‘COVID’ in future updates once we are confident in the quality of the results,” they said.
Interestingly, users searching for COVID-related terms are currently redirected via a pop-up link to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website.
This decision, however, has faced criticism, especially in light of the emergence of a new variant causing a surge in infections and hospitalizations.
Lucky Tran, the director of science communication at Columbia University, voiced his concerns saying, “The decision to censor searches about COVID will make it harder for public health experts and people who work in public health to get out important info to the public about how they can protect themselves.”
World Health Network’s outreach head, Julia Doubleday, emphasized the role of social media platforms in patient communication.
“Social media is a lifeline for patients, literally,” she highlighted.
Underscoring the plight of those suffering from “Long Covid,” she stated, “Long Covid patients have died of organ failure, infections, cardiac events, and more, and social media is one place they can share information.”
She condemned the decision, noting that, “Cutting off communication between suffering and disabled patients is cruel in the extreme. It’s indefensible.”
It remains unclear how Meta Platforms plans to curate content on Threads, but the company has mentioned that the safety policies will be in alignment with those of Instagram.
Threads users can seamlessly log in through Instagram.
Washington Post journalist Taylor Lorenz, who authored the report, criticized the approach, saying, “Wholesale blocking searches to things like covid is extremely irresponsible.”
Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, responded with understanding and assurance.
“I hear you, and we’re working to support more searches quickly,” he shared.
Elaborating on their cautious approach, he added, “We’re trying to learn from last mistakes and believe it’s better to bias towards being careful as we roll out search.”
