Health misinformation was viewed on Facebook 3.8 billion times in the past year, peaking during the Coronavirus crisis, the data suggests. Activist group Avaaz, which conducted the research, said Facebook is a “major threat” to public health.
A significant amount of health misinformation was shared from public pages.
And 42 of those pages were followed by more than 28 million people.
The type of content highlighted includes:
- 8.4 million views for an article claiming Bill Gates backed a polio vaccination that led to the paralysis of half a million children in India
- 4.5 million views for an article containing bogus cures for deadly diseases, such as colloidal silver for Ebola
- 2.4 million views for an article claiming quarantine harmed public health
