Pinterest blocks vaccine-related searches in crackdown on misinformation

Social media site has become platform for anti-vaccination activists with over 80 per cent of US mothers on Pinterest

The World Health Organisation identified “vaccine hesitancy” as one of this year’s 10 notable threats to global health (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Pinterest has blocked all searches using terms related to vaccinations as part of a plan to stop the spread of misinformation to anti-vax posts.

Type “vaccine” into its search bar and nothing pops up. “Vaccination” or “anti-vax?” Also nothing.

The social media site, which allows people to save pictures on virtual pin boards, is often used to find recipes for picky toddlers, baby shower décor or fashion trends. But it has also become a platform for anti-vaccination activists who spread misinformation on social media.

It is an especially effective way to reach parents: 80 per cent of mothers and 3 per cent of fathers in the US are on Pinterest, according to 2017 data from comScore.

The company has more than 250 million monthly active users and is expected to go public this year.

Other companies like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter have also been infiltrated with misinformation about vaccines. But only Pinterest, as first reported by the Wall Street Journal, has chosen to banish results associated with certain vaccine-related searches, regardless of whether the results might have been reputable.

“Right now, blocking results in search is a temporary solution to prevent people from encountering harmful misinformation,” Jamie Favazza, a spokeswoman, said. The company said it was working with experts to develop a more tailored long-term approach.

The changes, which were not publicly announced, started in September and October.

Opposition to vaccinations can be traced to the introduction of the first vaccine in the 18th century. Over time most people accepted vaccines, and diseases that could be prevented by them declined. They declined so much, in fact, that the success of vaccines may have muted the dangers associated with those diseases.

The World Health Organisation identified “vaccine hesitancy” as one of this year’s 10 notable threats to global health.

“I think this is stunning,” said Dr Gregory A Poland, director of the Mayo Clinic’s Vaccine Research Group in Rochester, Minnesota. “It shows the magnitude of the problem.”

Despite clear evidence that vaccines are effective and safe, some people still choose not to get vaccinated or to vaccinate their children, which has contributed to a surge in measles cases worldwide. In the United States, there have been five measles outbreaks this year and at least 127 individual cases.

One or two in 1,000 children who contract this highly contagious disease will die. Last year, measles killed 72 adults and children in the European region, where measles has reached its highest levels in two decades. While measles deaths are rare in developed countries, the illness can have severe lasting consequences, such as vision loss.

There are several reasons for vaccine hesitancy: worries about side effects, cost, moral or religious objections, fears about a debunked link to autism and lack of knowledge about immunisations.

“We’re just seeing all sorts of misinformation flying around on social media,” said Arthur L Caplan, head of the Division of Medical Ethics at the New York University School of Medicine, who has been writing about vaccine ethics and policy for 25 years.

“Fake news. Fake science,” he said on Friday. “Everybody’s an expert.”

An analysis by the Daily Beast of seven Facebook pages that promote anti-vaccine posts found that the pages had bought a combined 147 Facebook ads that had been viewed millions of times. Most of them targeted women over 25, it reported.

For social-media companies, containing the spread of misinformation – particularly about something as emotionally charged as vaccines – will be a lasting challenge as they balance fears about censorship with the need to promote useful content, experts said.

“It’s a mess that I don’t see easily solved,” Mr Poland said.

New York Times