Source: iMore
What you need to know
- Facebook spent the night deleting coronavirus posts that were wrongly designated spam.
- That's because of a bug in its anti-spam system.
- Posts from sources such as BBC News were marked as misleading or containing false advertisement.
A bug in Facebook's anti-spam system has caused posts about the coronavirus pandemic from reputable news sources such as the BBC to be deleted overnight.
As reported by BBC News:
Facebook has said that a software issue was responsible for posts on topics including coronavirus being wrongly marked as spam.
The social media giant's head of safety said: "This is a bug in an anti-spam system."
The statement was in response to widespread complaints from Facebook and Instagram users.
It came a day after the firm said contract workers who review content would be sent home due to the outbreak.
Source: Stephen Warwick/iMore
Facebook's Guy Rosen took to Twitter to advise users:
We're on this - this is a bug in an anti-spam system, unrelated to any changes in our content moderator workforce. We're in the process of fixing and bringing all these posts back. More soon.
He then confirmed early this morning that posts that were incorrectly removed that been restored:
We've restored all the posts that were incorrectly removed, which included posts on all topics - not just those related to COVID-19. This was an issue with an automated system that removes links to abusive websites, but incorrectly removed a lot of other posts too.
Reports note that articles affected included stories from BBC News, Times of Israel, Axios and The Atlantic. Facebook has sent home most of its contract workers who monitor content due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic. In a blog post, it noted that it was "prepared" for the situation, however, it admitted that "there may be some limitations to this approach" and that it could see "more mistakes as a result".
Best games to play first on the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack
N64 and Sega Genesis games make up some of the best games of all time. But which ones are the very best to play on the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack?
Review: Charge fast with RAVPower’s MagSafe-compatible wireless power bank
Though it feels (and is) cheaper than alternative products, RAVPower's MagSafe-compatible power bank boasts faster wireless charging speeds than the rest.
Apple Watch Series 7 teardown reveals larger battery, new display
iFixit has broken open the new Apple Watch Series 7, revealing a slightly larger battery and the possible cause of the delay to its release.
Get spooky with the best horror games out now for the Switch
Looking for some horror games on the Switch to get your adrenaline running? Do you just want something that's a little spooky, but not horrifying? Check out these options.