Companies in Silicon Valley, California, America’s technology capital, recently hurried to remove a misleading video from their websites. The video was of a discredited researcher sharing several questionable or false theories about the new coronavirus, including that it was part of a plot by powerful people. However, internet companies could not take the video down quickly enough. Millions of people watched and reposted the 26-minute video called Plandemic, over several days. And it gained a huge following in Facebook groups that oppose vaccines or are protesting state leaders’ stay-at-home orders. The spread of Plandemic demonstrates how easy it is to use social media to quickly share possibly problematic material to lots of people. It also shows how difficult it is for platforms to stop that spread.
Title: Coronavirus Misinformation Presents Problems for Tech Companies
Content: <div id='article-page'><div id='article-content' data-media-url='//news-app-staging.s3.amazonaws.com' data-base-url='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4201/A.wav' data-capture-url='//staging.analytics.lingraphica.com/events/capture_news' data-article-title='Coronavirus Misinformation Presents Problems for Tech Companies' data-article-id='4737'><script src='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/javascripts/getscripts.js'></script><link rel='stylesheet' href='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/stylesheets/article.css' type='text/css' /><div class='article'><p><span data-start-time='0' data-end-time='11667'>Companies in Silicon Valley, California, America’s technology capital, recently hurried to remove a misleading video from their websites.</span> <span data-start-time='11667' data-end-time='27875'>The video was of a discredited researcher sharing several questionable or false theories about the new coronavirus, including that it was part of a plot by powerful people.</span> <span data-start-time='27875' data-end-time='34333'>However, internet companies could not take the video down quickly enough.</span> <span data-start-time='34333' data-end-time='44167'> Millions of people watched and reposted the 26-minute video called Plandemic, over several days.</span> <span data-start-time='44167' data-end-time='56083'>And it gained a huge following in Facebook groups that oppose vaccines or are protesting state leaders’ stay-at-home orders.</span> <span data-start-time='56083' data-end-time='68500'>The spread of Plandemic demonstrates how easy it is to use social media to quickly share possibly problematic material to lots of people.</span> <span data-start-time='68500' data-end-time='75250'>It also shows how difficult it is for platforms to stop that spread.</span> </p></div><div class='control-buttons-sticky' style='display:none;'><div class='control-buttons'><button title='Back' class='back' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Play' class='play' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Pause' class='pause' style='display:none;'></button><button title='Forward' class='forward' disabled='disabled'></button><button class='finished-reading' style='display:none;'>Done</button></div></div></div><div id='article-media'><div id='media-image'><img src='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4201/A.jpg'/></div></div><div id='question-content' style='display:none;'><div class='vocabulary_question question-container' data-question-id=15051 data-hint-location='11667' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4201/what_misinformation_was_being_promoted_on_social_media.wav'>What misinformation was being promoted on social media?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='false theories about the new coronavirus'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4201/inaccurate_information_about_the_military.wav'><span>inaccurate information about the military</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4201/false_stories_about_celebrities.wav'><span>false stories about celebrities</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4201/incorrect_weather_reports.wav'><span>incorrect weather reports</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4201/false_theories_about_the_new_coronavirus.wav'><span>false theories about the new coronavirus</span></div></div></div><div class='multiple_choice_question question-container' data-question-id=15052 data-hint-location='34333' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4201/what_was_the_name_of_the_misleading_video.wav'>What was the name of the misleading video?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='Plandemic'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4201/news_hour.wav'><span>News Hour</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4201/plandemic.wav'><span>Plandemic</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4201/60_minutes.wav'><span>60 Minutes</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4201/we_have_a_cure.wav'><span>We Have a Cure</span></div></div></div><div class='sentence_completion_question question-container' data-question-id=15053 data-hint-location='11667' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4201/the_video_shared_questionable_or_false_theories_about_the_new_coronavirus_including_that_it_was_part_of_a_plot_by__blank_.wav'>The video shared questionable or false theories about the new coronavirus, including that it was part of a plot by <span class='blank'>powerful people</span>.</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='powerful people'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4201/small_business_owners.wav'><span>small business owners</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4201/the_elderly.wav'><span>the elderly</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4201/powerful_people.wav'><span>powerful people</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4201/school_children.wav'><span>school children</span></div></div></div><div class='question-buttons'><button class='skip-button'></button><button class='hint-button'></button><button class='speak-button'></button></div></div></div>
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