Liz Wheeler
Case #
2620

Instagram fact checks podcaster Liz Wheeler when she discussed studies that found face masks to be ineffective: Podcaster and former OAN host, Liz Wheeler, broke down the results of eight studies that examined the effectiveness of mask-wearing for the prevention of COVID-19 and other respiratory or "flu-like" diseases in an Instagram post. The eight studies were conducted in multiple countries from April of 2020 to February of 2021 and each of them found that mask-wearing had little to no statistically significant effect on the spread of viral disease. Instagram flagged her post discussing the scientific evidence with a recycled Health Feedback fact-check designed to disprove someone else's content. The fact-check did not dispute any of the facts she presented but rather offered a counter-narrative of other studies which came to different conclusions. Fact-checked posts lose exposure on Facebook feeds as they are negatively affected by the platform's algorithm. According to Facebook, users fail to click through a fact-check interstitial to see the post 95% of the time. Instagram, owned by Facebook, likely sees a similar effect.

Click images to enlarge

Fact Check
Instagram
Fact Check
Instagram
Fact Check
Instagram
Fact Check
Facebook
Fact Check
Instagram
Fact Check
Facebook
Fact Check
Facebook
Fact Check
Facebook
Fact Check
Facebook