Should Anti-Vax/Covid misinformation posts be deleted?

[SilverBirchWithout]

Twitter have announced they will be putting warnings on Covid misinformation tweets, and banning repeat offenders.

In recent days I’ve noticed a few anti-vax posts on Mumsnet containing long screeds obviously copied and pasted from dubious sources.
Mumsnet is a heavily moderated forum, and we are living through a public health crisis with vaccine hesitancy in some groups so is it in the public interest to delete extreme misinformation?
I’m in two minds myself. Open debate being important and it is pretty easy to debunk the majority of the rubbish, however some naive people are exposed to dangerous information that is designed to create unnecessary and unsubstantiated concerns.

Yes they should be deleted.

I'm on other forums and posters who write anti-vax post have their post removed and warned they will be banned if they continue writing the.

This is because the sites get traffic via search engines like Google and don't want to find they are down ranked/removed.

I hate the thought of silencing opinions and debate but some of the goady and irresponsible posts do need to go.
It is too big a platform to share mis-information and untruths and can have far reaching consequences.
And there are def some with an agenda to disrupt

It depends if it’s genuine anti vax or suppression of information:

www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4425

Mumsnet is a heavily moderated forum

Yeah right! MN is known for being very lightly moderated and being dependant of users reporting dubious posts. You could even say that it's self moderated.

Anti-vax posts may or may not be deleted, depending on what the discussion actually is. Effective countering is the norm here, as there are many well-informed posters.

So if/when you see posts that are total bollocks, report them. And rebut them on the thread in question.

But someone's genuine question is someone else's misinformation! In early Jan I was called a Russian bot for daring to be a bit worried about the stories around the jabs and fertility.

It was a genuine concern, however further research allayed my fears and I've had my first dose despite TTC.

So not everyone is going around deliberately writing anti vaxx posts, I certainly wasn't. Ditto side effects posts.

I think MN is self-moderated. Any remotely questioning thread/post gets quickly jumped on in huge numbers, e.g. not putting your DC in for school LFT tests (optional) gets you called selfish etc. No hope for anyone expressly anti-vax. In fact, the intolerance for anyone not being all-in to the collective mindset pretty much already stifles most harmless debate surrounding covid. Plus then certain bullying posters search your username and track you to other threads and bully you there too.

Ditto side effects posts good god, yes, these always get called out for putting people off getting their vaccination.
Plus don't be too keen to get your vaccine either or you are jumping a queue and need to wait your turn.
No criticism of hard-working schools or GPs allowed (not even by other hard-working groups - no others are allowed to exist).

I doubt anyone called you a Russian bot.

All the posts on that theme I've seen are pointing out the tactics of the Russian bots, and how easy it is to fall under their inflence.

You can see phrases from their playbook echoing through posts. It's an aspect of deliberate disinformation that needs to be described openly and more frequently.

It's better to deal with the transitory embarrassment that you've fallen for the message of a conmen, than it is to take a real and enduring hit to health

Yes if they are spreading misinformation they should be deleted.

Some “querying” posts seem genuine enough, but others even I (most gullible person ever) can see are anti-vax ones. They usually have a faux naive “just wondering” air, and some seem remarkably similar, even if posted by different people...

I don't think they should be deleted. Surely every voice should be heard, even if you don't agree with it, and isn't it better if you are pro vaccine to counter argue the information??

Have you tried reporting them and when you do, do they get deleted?

Couple of people have pulled up my comment ‘heavily moderated’. Maybe ‘heavily’ was a bit excessive, however it is certainly more moderated than Twitter, Facebook or Tattle. It is also fairly risk adverse when contentious famous people or topics are discussed, such as the royal family or women’s rights.
I’m just surprised more is not being done to control the amount of misinformation. Has anyone had experience of reporting posts or had posts deleted?

@2020BogOff

I don't think they should be deleted. Surely every voice should be heard, even if you don't agree with it, and isn't it better if you are pro vaccine to counter argue the information??

I generally agree with this view myself, and certainly most posts get called out - it just concerns me that mud sticks. You only need to think about the Wakefield scandal to know that the link false link with autism is still in some people’s memory. At the moment we are fortunate that the majority of people are clearly in favour of the vaccine. But the one or two posts against still really appal me.

Yes if they spread misinformation

No. It is censorship.

Yes anti vax as deliberate misinformation threads and posts

Not where someone is just saying no thanks don't want that though

The problem is some anti vaxers are crafty gots and know how to stay just inside the rules. Whilst still spreading fear or directing people to iffy facts

It depends if it’s genuine anti vax or suppression of information:
www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4425

Potentially a bit of a misunderstanding here....

The covid-deniers/conspiracy theorists believe there is a world-wide plot to hide science proving covid is harmless.......

The science "suppression" discussed in the above article is about the UK government's "suppression" of science that indicates greater harm/higher risk.

As a medicinal scientist who has followed the research connected to this pandemic from last January, I have been regularly astonished at how much cherry-picking of data/reports has gone on from the government scientific advisors and the scientists interviewed by the press - but this has ALWAYS been on the side of down-playing things.

The ‘every voice being heard’ doesn’t apply elsewhere on Mumsnet though.
You can’t warn about trolls, it’s a minefield discussing Trans issues, you are not permitted to be unkind or goady, racist, disabilist - quite rightly in most instances too.

The covid-deniers/conspiracy theorists believe there is a world-wide plot to hide science proving covid is harmless.......

And this is the narrative constantly used by those who attempt to suppress genuine discussion.

MN is not the place to find questions to genuine answers to questions about the vaccine you only need to sit back and watch the aggression and censorship of people who dare to ask.

Answers to genuine questions...

@SOSGB

Ditto side effects posts good god, yes, these always get called out for putting people off getting their vaccination. Plus don't be too keen to get your vaccine either or you are jumping a queue and need to wait your turn. No criticism of hard-working schools or GPs allowed (not even by other hard-working groups - no others are allowed to exist).

But these aren’t deleted by MN, they are just criticised by other posters. What I’m trying to understand is at what point comments citing false sources should be deleted in the interests of public safety. Like Twitter is now doing.

A - I think there is something to be said for supporting every fear filled poster with real information.

B - And for identifying the fearmongering posts and challenging every word.

C - Others just need reporting for being twattish bollocks!

The problem is it happens so very, very often, and A and B are easily mistaken for C.

MNHQ usually reply that they prefer to see false claims robustly challenged but when spam bots are so prolific or outrageous that people get fed up of countering their shit, they do sometimes delete.

Censorship just feeds the beast.