An operating Facebook social media account belonging to a group that continues to spread Covid-19 misinformation and idiotic conspiracy theories, has more than doubled their number of interactions it got in the first six months of 2021. This is despite a promise by Facebook to tackle all false virus pandemic claims.
A report published today by the United Kingdom founded Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) condemns Facebook’s efforts in tackling false information related to COVID-19 and vaccines on its platform. In particular they have failed by analysing the presence of a group called the World Doctors Alliance, whose members have spread various false and conspiratorial claims about the Covid pandemic, over the past 16 months.
Viewed more than 21.1 million times; the World Doctors Alliance (WDA), co-founded by former UCD Professor Dolores Cahill, now have more than half a million followers on their Facebook pages; a 13,000% increase since the start of this Covid-19 pandemic.
According to the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, Facebook is failing in its commitment to prohibit and remove false claims about COVID-19. The report also exposes major gaps in the efficacy of Facebook’s fact-checking program in languages outside of English and demonstrates that the platform is seriously failing to use the knowledge of these fact-checking organisations to take meaningful action against the grossly misinformed group.
Dolores Cahill, a former member of the minor right-wing, hard Eurosceptic political party in Ireland, which call, themselves (God help us),‘The Irish Freedom Party’; was one of 11 candidates to contest the 2020 Irish General Election, held on Saturday February 8th, 2020, with none of their candidates being successfully elected. Dolores Cahill, claiming to represent Tipperary came second-last in the Tipperary constituency, with a miserable 521 first preference votes. Following this election failure her agents ceased to function, in the removal of her election posters, for almost one year.
Note: Any posters in place before or after the stipulated election time-frame is deemed to be in breach of the legislation and are subject to an on-the-spot litter fine of €150 per week. Which begs the question did Tipperary Municipal District Council or Tipperary County Council exact their legally entitled dues?
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