מיט פינף אנגייענדיגע מיזעלס אויסברויכן אין אמעריקע, פארלאנגען געזעצגעבערס סיי פון געזונטהייט באאמטע און סיי פון טעכנאלאגיע ריזן אז זיי זאלן העלפן קעמפן קעגן גיפטיגע אַנטי-וואַקסין מיסאינפאָרמאַציע וואס פיטערט די פאַרשפּרייטן פון די קרענק.

פאריגע וואָך האבן לאַמאַר אלעקסאנדער (רעפובליקאנער פון טענעסי), טשעירמאַן פון דער סענאַט געזונטהייט קאַמיטע, צוזאַמען מיט די העכסטע-ראנקיגע מיטגליד, פּעטי מורעי (דעמאקראט פון וואַשינגטאן), געשיקט אַ בריוו (זעה פולע בריוו אונטן) צו די צענטער פאַר דעזיז קאָנטראָל און פּרעווענטשאָן און העלט ענד יומען סערוויסעס. די געזעצגעבערס האבן אנגעפרעגט וואָס געזונטהייט באאמטע טוען צו באקעמפן מיסאינפאָרמאַציע און צו העלפן סטעיטס האנדלען מיט די אויסבראך. די פארגאנגענעם דאנערשטאג האָט דער קאמיטע געמאלדן אַז זי וועט אָפהאַלטן אַ פארהער איבער די טעמע און מערץ 5.

אויך דאנערשטאג, האט עדעם שיף (דעמאקראט פון קאַליפארניע) געשיקט בריוו צו גוגל סי.אי.או. סונדאַר פּיטשאַי און פעיסבוק סי.אי.או. מאַרק זוקערבערג. אין זיי האט קאנגרעסמאן שיף אויסגעדריקט זיינע זארגן איבער די אויסבראכן ווי אויך די טעק פירמע'ס ראָלע אין די אויספרייטונג פון אומפארלעסליכע מעדעצינישע אינפאָרמאַציע.

אויב "באזארגטע" עלטערן זעען פאלשע וואַקסינאציע אינפאָרמאַציע אין זייער פעיסבוק בלאט אָדער יו-טוב רעקאָמענדאַציע, "קען עס זיי פאַראורזאכן צו איגנארירן די רעקאָמענדאציע פון זייער קינדער'ס דאקטאר און עפנטליכע געזונטהייט עקספּערטן און אפפזאגן צו פאָלגן די רעקאמענדירטע וואַקסינאציע פּלאַן", האט שיף געשריבן אין ביידע בריוון. "די באמבאדירונג פון אינפאָרמאַציע, אַפילו אויב פאַלש, קען אָפט שלעכט געטייטשט ווערן פאַר פארלעסליך, און זיין אויסגעשטעלט צו אַנטי-וואַקסין מיסט אויף סאשעל מידיאַ קען שלעכט פארדרייען באַניצערס' צוגאנג צו וואַקסינאציע".

שיף האט אנגעוויזן אַ לעצטיגע גאַרדיאַן אַרטיקל וואס האט באריכטעט אַז זוכן אויף ביידע פעיסבוק און יו-טוב האט גרינג געפירט באנוצערס צו אַנטי-וואַקסין פּראָפּאַגאַנדע (זעה בילד אונטן). ער האָט אויך אויסגעדריקט זארגן איבער אַ באַריכט אַז פעיסבוק נעמט אן געלד פאַר אַנטי-וואַקסין אנאסן (זעה בילד אונטן). שיף האט נישט אנגעגעבן די נאָמען פון דעם באַריכט, אָבער אַן אַרטיקל פובליצירט דאָנערשטאג דורך די דעילי ביעסט האט באמערקט אַז זיבן פעיסבוק בלעטער וואָס פּאָסטן און שטיצען אַנטי-וואַקסין שטותים ציהלן דוקא פרויען העכער די יאהרגאנג פון 25.


באריכט פון ישי שאלאמאן צו אידישע נייעס (וועב | טעלעגראם | טוויטער | אינסטעגראם | וואטסעפפ)
ווען איינער זוכט אינפארמאציע איבער וואַקסינאציע, באקומט ער גלייך א מבול פון פארקרומטע פּראָפּאַגאַנדע

און פעיסבוק מאכט געלד פון די פּראָפּאַגאַנדע וואס ווערט באצאהלט דורך די פארקרומטע קעפ

סענאטארישע בריוו צו די סי.די.סי.

בריוו פון לאַמאַר אלעקסאנדער און פּעטי מורעי

סענאטאר שיף'ס בריוו גוגל

February 14, 2019

Sundar Pichai
Chief Executive Officer
Google
1600 Amphitheater Parkway
Mountain View, CA 94043

Dear, Mr. Pichai:

As more Americans use the Internet and social media platforms as their primary source of information, it is important that we explore the quality of the information that they receive, particularly on issues that directly impact the health and well-being of Americans, as well as the billions who use your site around the world. Accordingly, I am writing out of my concern that YouTube is surfacing and recommending messages that discourage parents from vaccinating their children, a direct threat to public health, and reversing progress made in tackling vaccine-preventable diseases.

The scientific and medical communities are in overwhelming consensus that vaccines are both effective and safe. There is no evidence to suggest that vaccines cause life-threatening or disabling diseases, and the dissemination of unfounded and debunked theories about the dangers of vaccinations pose a great risk to public health. In fact, the World Health Organization listed vaccine hesitancy – the reluctance or refusal to vaccinate despite the availability of vaccines – as one of the top threats to global health in 2019. In a dramatic demonstration of the dangers, Washington state declared a public health emergency due to a measles epidemic in Clark County, signaling the resurgence of a potentially fatal disease that was effectively eliminated from the United States decades ago by vaccines.

There is strong evidence to suggest that at least part of the source of this trend is the degree to which medically inaccurate information about vaccines surface on the websites where many Americans get their information, among them YouTube and Google search. As I have discussed with you in other contexts, and as you have acknowledged, the algorithms which power these services are not designed to distinguish quality information from misinformation or misleading information, and the consequences of that are particularly troubling for public health issues. If a concerned parent consistently sees information in their YouTube recommendations that casts doubt on the safety or efficacy of vaccines, it could cause them to disregard the advice of their children’s physicians and public health experts and decline to follow the recommended vaccination schedule. Repetition of information, even if false, can often be mistaken for accuracy, and exposure to anti-vaccine content via social media may negatively shape user attitudes towards vaccination.

Additionally, even parents and guardians who seek out accurate information about vaccines could unwittingly reach pages and videos with misinformation. A report by the Guardian[1]  found that on both Facebook and YouTube, suggested searches related to vaccines often led users to pages or groups providing medically and scientifically inaccurate information.

As a Member of Congress who is deeply concerned about declining vaccination rates around the nation, I am requesting additional information on the steps that you currently take to provide medically accurate information on vaccinations to your users, and to encourage you to consider additional steps you can take to address this growing problem. I was pleased to see YouTube’s recent announcement that it will no longer recommend videos that violate its community guidelines, such as conspiracy theories or medically inaccurate videos, and encourage further action to be taken related to vaccine misinformation.

Specifically, I request that you provide answers on the following questions:
  • Does content which provides medically inaccurate information about vaccines violate your terms of service?
  • What action(s) do you currently take to address misinformation related to vaccines on your platforms? Are you considering or taking additional actions?
  • Do you accept paid advertising from anti-vaccine activists and groups on your platforms? How much has been spent in the past year on advertising on this topic?
  • What steps do you currently take to prevent anti-vaccine videos or information from being recommended to users, either algorithmically or as a suggested search result?

I appreciate your timely response to these questions and encourage you to consider what additional steps you can take to address this growing problem. As more Americans rely on your services as their primary source of information, it is vital that you take that responsibility with the seriousness it requires, and nowhere more so than in matters of public health and children’s health. Thank you for your attention to this important topic.

Sincerely,

Adam B. Schiff
Member of Congress


סענאטאר שיף'ס בריוו גוגל און פעיסבוק

February 14, 2019

Mark Zuckerberg
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Facebook Inc.
1 Hacker Way
Menlo Park, CA 94025

Dear, Mr. Zuckerberg:

As more Americans use the Internet and social media platforms as their primary source of information, it is important that we explore the quality of the information that they receive, particularly on issues that directly impact the health and well-being of Americans, as well as the billions who use your site around the world. Accordingly, I am writing out of my concern that Facebook and Instagram are surfacing and recommending messages that discourage parents from vaccinating their children, a direct threat to public health, and reversing progress made in tackling vaccine-preventable diseases.

The scientific and medical communities are in overwhelming consensus that vaccines are both effective and safe. There is no evidence to suggest that vaccines cause life-threatening or disabling diseases, and the dissemination of unfounded and debunked theories about the dangers of vaccinations pose a great risk to public health. In fact, the World Health Organization listed vaccine hesitancy – the reluctance or refusal to vaccinate despite the availability of vaccines – as one of the top threats to global health in 2019. In a dramatic demonstration of the dangers, Washington state declared a public health emergency due to a measles epidemic in Clark County, signaling the resurgence of a potentially fatal disease that was effectively eliminated from the United States decades ago by vaccines.

There is strong evidence to suggest that at least part of the source of this trend is the degree to which medically inaccurate information about vaccines surface on the websites where many Americans get their information, among them Facebook and Instagram. As I have discussed with you in other contexts, and as you have acknowledged, the algorithms which power these services are not designed to distinguish quality information from misinformation or misleading information, and the consequences of that are particularly troubling for public health issues. I acknowledge that it may not always be a simple matter to determine when information is medically accurate, nor do we ask that your platform engage in the practice of medicine, but if a concerned parent consistently sees information in their Newsfeed that casts doubt on the safety or efficacy of vaccines, it could cause them to disregard the advice of their children’s physicians and public health experts and decline to follow the recommended vaccination schedule. Repetition of information, even if false, can often be mistaken for accuracy, and exposure to anti-vaccine content via social media may negatively shape user attitudes towards vaccination.

Additionally, even parents and guardians who seek out accurate information about vaccines could unwittingly reach pages and videos with misinformation. A report by the Guardian[1]  found that on both Facebook and YouTube, suggested searches related to vaccines often led users to pages or groups providing medically and scientifically inaccurate information. Finally, I am concerned by the report that Facebook accepts paid advertising that contains deliberate misinformation about vaccines.

As a Member of Congress who is deeply concerned about declining vaccination rates around the nation, I am requesting additional information on the steps that you currently take to provide medically accurate information on vaccinations to your users, and to encourage you to consider additional steps you can take to address this growing problem. I was pleased to see YouTube’s recent announcement that it will no longer recommend videos that violate its community guidelines, such as conspiracy theories or medically inaccurate videos, and encourage further action to be taken related to vaccine misinformation.

Specifically, I request that you provide answers on the following questions:
  • Does content which provides medically inaccurate information about vaccines violate your terms of service?
  • What action(s) do you currently take to address misinformation related to vaccines on your platforms? Are you considering or taking additional actions?
  • Do you accept paid advertising from anti-vaccine activists and groups on your platforms? How much has been spent in the past year on advertising on this topic?
  • What steps do you currently take to prevent anti-vaccine videos or information from being recommended to users, either algorithmically or as a suggested search result?

I appreciate your timely response to these questions and encourage you to consider what additional steps you can take to address this growing problem. As more Americans rely on your services as their primary source of information, it is vital that you take that responsibility with the seriousness it requires, and nowhere more so than in matters of public health and children’s health. Thank you for your attention to this important topic.

Sincerely,
Adam B. Schiff
Member of Congress


1 תגובות

  1. איר קענט אנווייזן אז טראמפ, מיט זיין צעווידעוועטע קאמפיין אין 2016 קעגן אלעס נארמאל, האט אויף פארקויפט די שקרים פאר זיינע פאנאטישע הוילע קעפ (סקינהעדס בלע"ז)

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