Google has removed 850,000 YouTube videos containing COVID-19 misinformation and blocked nearly 100 million ads containing false or misleading COVID-19 claims in 2020, according to testimony presented March 25 to the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
The hearing, at which the CEOs of Google, Facebook and Twitter testified, was aimed at addressing the online misinformation that contributed to the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, as well as the proliferation of conspiracy theories and false claims about COVID-19 on social media.
Before the hearing, the three companies drew attention to their recent efforts to curb the spread of misinformation.
Like Google, Twitter said it has removed 22,000 tweets containing COVID-19 misinformation and has challenged nearly 12 million accounts for COVID-19 misinformation posts.
Facebook said it has referred billions of users to credible COVID-19 information from public health authorities and has removed millions of posts containing COVID-19 misinformation in February alone.
During the hearing, Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., and Cathy McMorris Rodgers R-Wash., scrutinized the tech platforms' algorithm design, which they said can lead users to engage with false or misleading COVID-19 information.
"The dirty truth is that they are relying on algorithms to purposely promote conspiratorial, divisive, or extremist content so that they can take more money in ad dollars," Mr. Pallone said. "This is because the more outrageous and extremist the content, the more engagement and views these companies get from their users and more views equals more money."
The CEOs rejected Mr. Pallone's claims, saying the nation's polarizing political and media environments are culpable for social media echo chambers.