Amazon’s search algorithm spreads vaccine disinformation, study finds

Amazon’s reputation for spreading health misinformation has led critics to call it “a dystopian bookstore.” Their concerns have escalated since COVID-19 unleashed a wave of anti-vaccination zealots. According to a new study from the University of Washington, the world’s leading online retailer is amplifying the hysteria. The researchers found that Amazon’s search algorithm promotes books endorsing false claims about vaccines over those that debunk them. They also discovered a filter-bubble effect that leads users who engage with misinformative products to be recommended more of the same. The study describes Amazon’s search results as “a marketplace of multifaceted health misinformation” and the platform’s recommendations as “problematic…

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