Social Media
Facebook is now banning COVID-19 vaccine misinformation
Conspiracies are out
As the healthcare industry finally develops and approves a COVID-19 vaccine, information dissemination and the fight against misinformation will become the next staging ground against the pandemic. In a revised policy, Facebook is now banning COVID-19 vaccine misinformation on the platform.
Previously, Facebook already confirmed more rigorous moderation against COVID-19 misinformation in general. The platform previously had a laxer crusade against anti-vaccine ads.
Now, in a Thursday announcement, the social media platform will also police COVID-19 vaccine information, especially regarding claims already debunked by medical experts.
Facebook will target “false claims about the safety, efficacy, ingredients or side effects of the vaccines.” This will include ill-informed conspiracy theories such one that claims the vaccine will have microchips.
Enforcement will remain a problem for the platform, though. Facebook admits that moderation cannot happen overnight, especially since new information comes out practically every day.
Most recently, the United Kingdom approved widespread use of the Pfizer vaccine candidate, marking the country as the first to do so. Elsewhere, Pfizer and Moderna are still seeking approvals from other countries.
Besides Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have also committed to more moderation policies against COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccine misinformation. However, despite being months into the pandemic, misinformation still finds a way to rise to the top. One can only hope that ongoing moderation policies can effectively cut through falsities.
SEE ALSO: Facebook took down pro-China, pro-Duterte accounts
Despite the ease that the technology promises, artificial intelligence still isn’t the most reliable thing you can depend on. Today’s models can still flub answers. Now, the pitfalls of AI are abundantly clear with a few mishaps on X. Golden State Warrior Klay Thompson was just “accused” of a vandalism spree involving bricks.
Late Tuesday night, X presented an AI-generated news snippet. The article, posted soon after the Warriors’ play-in loss to the Sacramento Kings, reads: “Klay Thompson Accused in Bizarre Brick-Vandalism Spree.”
The snippet hilariously described an incident where Thompson supposedly vandalized houses in Sacramento with bricks. Thankfully, according to the snippet, no one was hurt. It even had a few sources for its claims below the news summary.
First off… I am ok.
My house was vandalized by bricks 🧱
After my hands stopped shaking, I managed to call the Sheriff…They were quick to respond🚨
My window was gone and the police asked if I knew who did it👮♂️
I said yes, it was Klay Thompson
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) April 17, 2024
The sources, however, are just joke posts stemming from the recently concluded game. In that do-or-die game, Thompson put up a staggering 0 points on ten shot attempts, the most misses without a make by a Warrior since the ’68 season. Naturally, everyone joked that the Warriors guard just threw bricks all over Sacramento.
Now, X is currently experimenting with a new AI feature called Grok. The model collates trending topics and creates snippets of what’s happening for X users. However, it’s not exactly the smartest in determining real news from satiric ones. The feature notes as much, carrying a fine-print caveat warning users to “verify its outputs” because it’s an early feature and can make mistakes.
SEE ALSO: New X users must pay a dollar per year to post and reply
News
YouTube now requires creators to label AI-generated content
Especially when the tech is heavily used
The dead internet theory is a conspiracy theory postulating that most of the internet is just composed of bots at this point. While it’s fairly easy to dispute the theory as just outlandish speculation, it’s simultaneously difficult to dispute that the internet is overrun by AI-generated content. YouTube, in a renewed effort to combat AI-borne misinformation, is making it easier to separate generative AI from human creators.
Today, YouTube’s Creator Studio has launched a new tool to adequately label content as AI-generated. The new tool will require creators to affix a label when AI is used to significantly alter the meaning of a video.
A few examples of when the label is required include: when the likeness of a person is used over another person, when footage of real events are altered, and when entire events are fabricated with AI. Though the policy seemingly covers all AI uses, creators can still use AI to generate scripts without needing a label.
In addition to adding more tools and requirements for creators, YouTube is also working on new policies to cover takedown requests for AI-generated content. The company’s goal is to increase transparency for a world where AI is much more prominent.
SEE ALSO: YouTube is now blocking your adblocker
Last week, an absurd wave of AI-generated images of Taylor Swift surfaced on X. Naturally, the phenomenon earned the ire of Swifties all over the internet. Now, larger parties are in motion. X has temporarily blocked all searches for the iconic singer.
Confirmed via the Wall Street Journal, X is retaliating against the push and pull between AI creators and Swifties on the platform. Over the weekend, the platform halted all searches for the singer and her photos. Currently, searching “Taylor Swift” or “Taylor AI” will net an error page. The company says that posting non-consensual nudity, which covers deepfakes, is still prohibited on the platform. The block is only temporary before the platform can think of a more permanent solution.
The method isn’t completely restrictive, though. At the time of this writing, searching for “Taylor,” “Taylor photos,” or “Taylor deepfake” still results in relevant posts.
Regardless, it’s a first salvo in an ensuing war against AI-generated imagery. Several companies and the government are already working on ways to curb the content and criminalize creators. Currently, X is purging all AI-generated photos of the star as soon as they pop up.
However, as anyone familiar with the internet can deduce, moderating content cannot stop them from popping up elsewhere. Following the rise of these images depicting Taylor Swift in promiscuous positions, the greater world has started becoming more aware of generative AI as a tool easily misused by malicious parties.
SEE ALSO: Swifties rally against Taylor Swift NSFW deepfakes on Twitter/X
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