Jan 20, 2022 12:30:00

The Royal Society of the United Kingdom publishes a report stating that 'content containing false information should not be deleted from SNS'

The Royal Society, the oldest academic society in the world, has released a report that the way to deal with the scientific misinformation that floods the Internet is to 'do not delete false alarms from the Internet.'

The online information environment | Royal Society
https://royalsociety.org/topics-policy/projects/online-information-environment/

Royal Society cautions against online censorship of scientific misinformation | University of Oxford
https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2022-01-19-royal-society-cautions-against-online-censorship-scientific-misinformation

Tackle scientific misinformation, but don't delete it, says UK Royal Society report – POLITICO
https://www.politico.eu/article/tackle-scientific-misinformation-but-dont-delete-it-says-uk-royal-society-report/

There is a lot of misleading information about the symptoms and treatments of new coronavirus infections and the safety of vaccines. Social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook have addressed the issue by removing content that contains false information and suspending accounts that disseminate false information.

Twitter announces that it will remove false information about the new coronavirus vaccine-GIGAZINE

The Royal Society published its latest report on the Internet environment on January 19, 2022. In this report, instead of removing false information, the Royal Society will continue to fund independent fact-checking agencies, monitor and source content that contains scientifically false information. The correct solution is to limit the spread of false information by limiting such content.

Frank Kelly, a professor of mathematics at the University of Cambridge Institute of Statistics, who was involved in the report, said, 'Most people believe that the Internet has improved public understanding of science, but online misinformation is a reality. It is undeniable that it will harm the world. '

Vint Cerf, Google's chief internet evangelist and one of the reporting members, said, 'Instead of removing online content, we turn off monetization, add fact check labels, and recommend algorithms. I think we can curb the effects of scientific misinformation by regulating it with Google. '

Professor Rasmus Kreis Neilson of the Reuters Journalism Institute, University of Oxford, who was also involved in the report, said, 'Many citizens, even if it contains misinformation, if access to information is restricted. Will not make the worst misunderstanding. '

The report recommends the following several methods to prevent the spread of false information.

· Support for multiple independent fact checking agencies
・ Monitor and mitigate sources of scientific misinformation
・ Investment to improve information literacy of the general public