Threads’ recently added keyword search feature is blocking searches related to vaccines and COVID-19.
According to The Washington Post, users searching for posts related to COVID-19 were met with a popup directing them to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Threads’ parent company, Meta, confirmed to the publication that not only was the block intentional, but it also applied to a variety of other search terms.
“The search functionality temporarily doesn’t provide results for keywords that may show potentially sensitive content,” the company said in a statement. It further noted terms are only searchable “once we are confident in the quality of the results.”
While the company didn’t provide a list of these terms, The Post’s own searches found “sex,” “nude,” “gore,” “porn,” “coronavirus,” “vaccines” and “vaccination” were on the list.
In a post on Twitter X, Instagram head Adam Mosseri stated the company is “trying to learn from last [sic] mistakes.”
I hear you, and we're working to support more searches quickly. We're trying to learn from last mistakes and believe it's better to bias towards being careful as we roll out search.
— Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) September 11, 2023
As The Post notes, the move shows the platform is thinking about disinformation. However, this method might not be the best approach as it stops people from sharing insights on important topics in real time.
Via: The Washington Post
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