Meta, the artificial-intelligence powered platform that helps track and analyze the spread of misinformation online, has discovered its largest misinformation campaign to date. The campaign, which has been active since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, involves the spread of false stories, images, and videos about the virus.
These false stories have been spread by a network of malicious actors, located mostly in the United States and China. According to reports, the actors have created hundreds of fake accounts, websites, and social-media channels to spread their false messages. The platforms used to spread this misinformation include Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Reddit, and WhatsApp.
The aim of this misinformation campaign is to create confusion and fear amongst the population, and to sow the seeds of distrust in the public’s perception of scientists and medical experts. To this end, the actors have targeted their misinformation to certain communities and political divisions, often with the aim of exploiting existing social divides.
At the same time, the campaign has been used to promote various conspiracies and other false claims, such as the false notion that COVID-19 is a Chinese-created virus. Unfounded theories have been used to spread fear and doubt amongst vulnerable populations, such as the elderly and minorities.
Meta’s team first detected the campaign in April this year, when it identified a network of fake accounts spreading false stories about COVID-19. The team then used its artificial-intelligence based platform to analyze the spread of the messages. This, in turn, allowed them to trace the source of the misinformation and reveal the vast network of actors involved in the campaign.
The team hopes that by shining a light on this campaign, they can help to reduce the amount of misinformation and infodemic-related confusion that has been seen in the past year. By helping to inform and educate the public, Meta hopes to reduce the impact of future disinformation campaigns.
Meta’s platform is also being used to help those affected by the campaign. Their AI algorithms can detect previously unseen patterns of deceptive content, allowing them to detect and alert those who may be exposed to false information. This helps to promote truth-based conversations and dispel false claims more quickly.
Overall, it is clear that the COVID-19 pandemic has opened up a battleground for malicious actors to spread false information. Meta’s discovery of the largest misinformation campaign to date should serve as a wake-up call to authorities and the public alike, in order to prevent the further spread of this false information.
