Covid-19 conspiracies plague social media
Crowds gathered in Melbourne on Sunday to protest the current Victorian lock-down, ending with over 70 protesters arrested.
The protests, organised by social media pages promoting anti-coronavirus conspiracy theories, are yet another example of the dangerous effect misinformation has.
Platforms like Facebook and Twitter are not stranger to this issue, with the growing trend of Covid-19 conspiracies representing the latest in misleading trends. These trends are further aggravated by fringe conspiracy groups such as QAnon, whose reach is increasingly global.
To find out more about this issue, Ryan Stanton spoke with experts about the misinformation present on the platform. He also discussed the more malicious disinformation, and how these threats can be fought.
If you enjoyed this story and want even more, read Jacques Raubenheimer and Timothy Graham’s articles in The Conversation