Youtube and Instagram accused of pushing misinformation to its audience on Covid-19

Team Udayavani, Apr 11, 2020, 10:38 AM IST

Amid Covid-19 lockdown, Tiktok was the most used app followed by Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

But, now Instagram and youtube have been accused of moral failure by allowing accounts that share coronavirus conspiracy theories with millions of viewers.

The social media apps allowed selling of clothing, nutritional supplements, online courses, by spreading misinformation.

YouTube said it removes content that disputes the existence of COVID-19, suggests symptoms are caused by 5G, or says taking a test for the virus will cause people to contract it.

It is said that a video from an account called ‘London Real’, featuring an interview with the notorious conspiracy theorist David Icke, was removed by YouTube on Tuesday after breaching new rules prohibiting videos that make the claim the coronavirus is linked to 5G.

But, a separate interview with David Icke on the London Real channel called “The Dangers Of A 5g World” was not removed by YouTube, despite having the video hashtags Covid-19 which implies a link between 5G and coronavirus.

On the other hand, Instagram account called Project Knowledge, which links to a page selling conspiracy-themed clothing, has almost half a million followers and has posted about coronavirus being a Chinese plot, describing it as a ‘plandemic’.