With COVID-19 vaccinations being conducted worldwide, social media platforms have stepped up their efforts to curb COVID-19 vaccine misinformation that is spreading rapidly online. Pinterest has announced via their website that it is launching new efforts to control fake news about the COVID-19 vaccine on its platform.
Pinterest initially launched its a campaign against COVID-19 misinformation last year – which included customised search results from experts, a ban on ads that promote misleading information regarding cures and treatments for COVID-19, and featured information from the World Health Organization (WHO) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Pinterest will now focus on combating vaccine misinformation in the following ways:
Partnership with Association for Healthcare Social Media (AHSM):
AHSM is dedicated to providing expert information on medical topics. In this new partnership, AHSM will “create story pins that educate pinners about COVID-19 vaccines, generate awareness about the importance of vaccination, and dispel myths”.
Partnership with medical organizations that help underrepresented groups:
Pinterest will be providing ‘paid media, creative resources, and other support’ to medical organizations that provide aid to underrepresented groups. According to Pinterest, these groups – which include Black, Indigenous, and Hispanic communities – have been “disproportionately affected by COVID-19”.
Support towards AdCouncil through paid media:
In an effort to ‘promote educational content from authoritative sources’, Pinterest will be providing ‘paid media to the AdCouncil to support its COVID-19 vaccine awareness campaign It’s Up to You’. The aim of this partnership is to empower pinners to keep themselves up-to-date with accurate vaccination information.
Providing Authoritative Content on Expert Search and Today Tab:
This latest update will work in the following ways: Pinners who search for COVID-19 related topics will be shown a banner that displays a ‘WHO COVID-19 Resource Page’. Expert Search Results will also provide pinners medical information from qualified medical authorities such as the CDC and the WHO. Additionally, Story pins from the ‘AHSM and AdCouncil Campaign’ will be featured under the Today Tab.