Popular Info: “Facebook talks a lot about its efforts to “keep people safe and informed about the coronavirus.” According to the company, it is “connecting people to credible information,” “combating COVID-19 misinformation,” and “supporting fact-checkers…So that’s what Facebook says. But how successful has the company been at combating misinformation about COVID and other health issues? A new report by the international non-profit Avaaz reveals that Facebook’s efforts have been inadequate. Facebook users are being exposed to far more misinformation than accurate health content. Avaaz found that, in April, “content from the top 10 websites spreading health misinformation reached four times as many views on Facebook as equivalent content from the websites of 10 leading health institutions, such as the WHO and CDC.” The group concluded that “Facebook’s moderation tactics are not keeping up with the amplification Facebook’s own algorithm provides to health misinformation content and those spreading it.” Avaaz identified 82 websites that are spreading misinformation about COVID-19 and other health issues. A website was included in the list only if it directly published misinformation judged false by a credible fact-checker that was widely spread on Facebook. Avaaz found that content from these websites generated “130 million interactions, equivalent to 3.8 billion estimated views on Facebook, between May 28, 2019 and May 27, 2020.”…