Many technology companies like Amazon and Facebook use algorithms to determine what content should be presented to users based on their previous behavior and preferences.  Search algorithms are also a key determinant of what information is presented. Platform search results are one of the main ways people retrieve and believe information.

But how algorithms work remain a mystery to the general population. And the technology can create a dangerous feedback loop of reinforcing misinformation: the more you click on a subject, the more recommendations for that subject occur, thus creating the illusion that the more you see something, the more it must be true.

To understand how Amazon recommendations could spread health misinformation, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Telecommunication Assistant Professor Jieun Shin and Thomas Valente from the USC Keck School of Medicine,  examined Amazon’s rankings and recommendations of books based off the search word “vaccine.” According to The World Health Organization, vaccine-hesitancy is one of the major threats facing the world. Exposure to negative information regarding vaccines can affect the public’s opinion of vaccines.

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Posted: August 5, 2020
Category: Digest Only