Page - 198 - in VULNERABLE - The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19

VULNERABLE198 the correct information should be framed as if the general public is the audience. Empowering Users Fighting the spread of misinformation will, of course, require more than just carefully crafted debunks on social media. We need to come at this issue from every angle.68 We need, for instance, social media platforms to adopt evidence-informed strategies that will both remove the most harmful content and heighten user vigilance. Studies have found, for example, that the use of warning tags—such as those “rated false”—on social media posts can be an effective strategy to inform the public about potential problems with accuracy with specific content.69 And we need a more robust policy response against individuals who are pushing unproven products and ideas on social media platforms in a manner that infringes existing laws and regulations.70 Perhaps the most important strategy will be to empower peo- ple with the tools necessary to be more critical consumers of infor- mation. This should incorporate teaching both critical thinking skills and media literacy,71 including inoculating (or “pre-bunking”) people 68. See e.g. Kate Starbird, “Disinformation’s Spread: Bots, Trolls and All of Us” (2019) 571 Nature World View 449, DOI: <10.1038/d41586-019-02235-x>: “But effective disinformation campaigns involve diverse participants; they might even include a majority of ‘unwitting agents’ who are unaware of their role.” 69. Katherine Clayton et al, “Real Solutions for Fake News? Measuring the Effectiveness of General Warnings and Fact-Check Tags in Reducing Belief in False Stories on Social Media” (2019) Political Behaviour at abstract, “ … indi- cate that false headlines are perceived as less accurate when people receive a general warning.” While warning tags seem to have a role to play, they need to be deployed sensibly. Research has found, for example, that general warnings telling readers to beware of misinformation can have an unintended spillover of effect of decreasing “belief in the accuracy of true headlines…” Pennycook et al, supra note 43 highlights that using warning tags can lead to an inap- propriate implication that posts without warnings are more accurate. See also Melanie Freeze et al, “Fake Claims of Fake News: Political Misinformation, Warnings, and the Tainted Truth Effect” (2020) Political Behaviour, DOI: 10.1007/ s11109-020-09597-3>. 70. For an example of regulatory action, see Health Canada, Health Products that Make  False  or  Misleading  Claims  to  Prevent,  Treat  or  Cure  COVID-19  May  Put  Your  Health at Risk, (Advisory RA-72659) (Ottawa: Health Canada, 27 March 2020); Federal Trade Commission, Press Release, “FTC Sends 45 More Letters Warning Marketers to Stop Making Unsupported Claims That Their Products and Therapies Can Effectively Prevent or Treat COVID-19” (7 May 2020). 71. See e.g. Michelle A Amazeen & Erik P Bucy, “Conferring Resistance to Digital Disinformation: The Inoculating Influence of Procedural News Knowledge”