ABSTRACT
Meta, Twitter, YouTube, and other social media websites have struggled to make effective governance decisions on behalf of billions of users every day, and inaccurate health information continues to run rampant. At an individual level, many users of these systems find themselves trapped in inaccurate health information bubbles, sometimes built inadvertently via the networks they have created. In an attempt to address these challenges, this team of researchers will design, build, and evaluate network-transforming interventions: software-assisted systems to alter underlying networks that spread inaccurate health information online. In this context, a health information monitor Twitter account will continuously track emerging inaccurate health information on English-speaking Twitter and deliver counter-messaging to the recipients of that inaccurate information—with the aim of motivating users to unfollow the source. The research team will introduce a roadmap for information interventions that can operate outside of corporations and governments, fill the gaps left by the constraints of industry and regulation, and promote safe and trustworthy online experiences.
