NiemanLab – During a pandemic, that’s dangerous – Data voids on social networks are spreading misinformation and causing real world harm. Here are some ideas on how to fix the problem. “We are especially vulnerable when we want to know something — such as how to treat Covid-19 — but no credible information exists. At the beginning of the pandemic, confusion about symptoms, causes, and treatments reigned. Viral posts claimed a runny nose was not a sign of the disease, or that garlic, alcohol, or sunlight were good preventative measures. A range of medicines have been tried and tested, including chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, favipiravir, remdesivir, azithromycin, and dexamethasone. Some were found to be effective, others less so If more speculation or misinformation exists around these terms than credible facts, then search engines often present that to people who, in the midst of a pandemic, may be in a desperate moment. This can lead to confusion, conspiracy theories, self-medication, stockpiling, and overdoses. These invisible moments of vulnerability are known as data voids: when there are high levels of demand for information on a topic, but low levels of credible supply. Data voids were first defined by Michael Golebiewski and danah boyd in 2019, and describe vulnerabilities that emerge from search engines like Google..”