UK Scientists advice against removing misleading content from social media

  • An investigation by the Royal Society, the independent scientific academy of the UK, concluded that removing false claims and harmful accounts from social media has little effect to combat disinformation. In fact, it could potentially backfire, driving disinformation to “harder-to-address corners of the internet and exacerbate feelings of distrust in authorities”. Frank Kelly, mathematics professor at the University of Cambridge who chaired the Royal Society report explained that driving users away from mainstream platforms makes it harder for scientists to reach disinformed audiences. Instead, he suggests that there is a need for a more nuanced approach that gives people the tools to detect and react against online disinformation.