MacRumors is still allowing COVID-19 disinformation

[SuperMatt]

In a thread about Apple’s vaccine policy, we have a few posters tossing all sorts of lies about COVID-19 into the fray. While other platforms are trying to do something, MR and Reddit are allowing these deadly lies to spread.

Apple Expands Efforts to Vaccinate Employees, But Doesn't Mandate Vaccines

Apple is further pushing its employees in the United States to get vaccinated now that the Food and Drug Administration has officially approved the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, reports Bloomberg. Apple has launched a new internal web page, sent out an employee memo, and is holding internal talks...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[Eric]

In a thread about Apple’s vaccine policy, we have a few posters tossing all sorts of lies about COVID-19 into the fray. While other platforms are trying to do something, MR and Reddit are allowing these deadly lies to spread.

Apple Expands Efforts to Vaccinate Employees, But Doesn't Mandate Vaccines

Apple is further pushing its employees in the United States to get vaccinated now that the Food and Drug Administration has officially approved the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, reports Bloomberg. Apple has launched a new internal web page, sent out an employee memo, and is holding internal talks...

forums.macrumors.com

So far it's been their policy all along, they have been a haven for conspiracies and antivaxx/mask posts.

 

[SuperMatt]

So far it's been their policy all along, they have been a haven for conspiracies and antivaxx/mask posts.

I took a glance at it today. The level of discourse on MR has devolved even further than I remember. It feels like middle-school kids trying to talk about “adult” stuff. They clearly don’t know what they are talking about, but they pretend they know something by presenting it in an authoritative tone.

 

[Cmaier]

It surprises me that Arn doesn’t do anything about it. In the early days of the pandemic he used to counter-post, at least.

 

[SuperMatt]

It surprises me that Arn doesn’t do anything about it. In the early days of the pandemic he used to counter-post, at least.

My guess is that the ensuing arguments drive traffic and increase ad revenue. I also think there are quite a few anti-vax believers and he probably doesn’t want to alienate anybody… but is he alienating other people by letting them have free rein? I don’t know.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

It surprises me that Arn doesn’t do anything about it. In the early days of the pandemic he used to counter-post, at least.

I agree with @SuperMatt's interpretation (it drives traffic, thus increasing ad revenue), but I still think it an appalling moral and ethical abdication, a complete abdication of ethical and civic responsibility, all the more egregious as Arn is a qualified doctor, a physician, though he no longer practices medicine, and thus, should be in a position where he understands - at a professional level, - just what a threat to health (and society, and families, and economies, etc) the Covid virus actually is.

 

[Eric]

It surprises me that Arn doesn’t do anything about it. In the early days of the pandemic he used to counter-post, at least.

Must have missed that, he's been very much silent on the issue and even when called out on it he downplays it. For the most part he's allowed Conservatives to overrun the board and we're now seeing the results of that, more along the lines of Parler with "free speech", meaning they're allowed to spread as much information as they like unchecked.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Must have missed that, he's been very much silent on the issue and even when called out on it he downplays it. For the most part he's allowed Conservatives to overrun the board and we're now seeing the results of that, more along the lines of Parler with "free speech", meaning they're allowed to spread as much information as they like unchecked.

Especially since they came up with the exquisite and carefully calibrated refinement of the rules - a complete cop-out, and utter abrogation of responsibility for what appears on the site, or platform - which states that "moderators aren't fact checkers".