Steve Huffman, CEO of Reddit, is reluctant to combat the misinformation circulating on the platform. He assures that “dissent is part of Reddit and is the basis of democracy.” According to Vice, Huffman's statements come after the complaints of a large number of Internet users, who denounce the lack of tools on the part of the platform to stop hoaxes about the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccines against coronavirus.
Specifically, a moderator posted a message on a popular subreddit called “r / vaxxhappened,” where users often share memes and information about vaccines. The text talks about the large number of people who misinform and spread hoaxes related to the pandemic , and asks Reddit to provide tools to prevent and combat misinformation.
“The main problem with a concerted disinformation campaign is that such a message acquires legitimacy through high volume of repetition. This is dangerous when it comes to unsafe medical advice, such as promoting the ingestion or injection of dewormers for livestock, the side effect of which it is death, “says the message.
Reddit will allow opposing opinions, including those that misinform
Following the popularity of that thread, which already has more than 180,000 votes, Huffman shared a message titled “Debate, dissent and protest on Reddit.” The Reddit CEO begins by highlighting the importance of getting vaccinated to cope with the coronavirus. Also remember the large number of resources provided to moderators and users to properly report on the pandemic. The publication, however, focuses on the value of the debate —and, therefore, the dissemination of disinformation as part of that debate—, even knowing the problems it can cause.
“Reddit is a place for open and authentic discussion and debate. This includes conversations that challenge or disagree with popular consensus. Also conversations that criticize those who disagree with the majority opinion. As well as protests that criticize or object to our decisions about which communities to ban the platform “, highlights the CEO in his publication.
Huffman also highlights that Reddit will fight against information that can endanger its users . For example, the hoaxes of toxic products that supposedly fight the coronavirus. The platform's policy also prohibits postings that incite fraud, such as the use of fake vaccination cards.
The social network, therefore, will continue to allow popular threads that misinform about the pandemic. Even though these types of messages can also affect people's health indirectly.
