Facebook admits it made an 'error' after algorithm threatens to ban users who post content showing people how to make their own masks

An algorithm designed to help weed out misinformation about coronavirus has been inadvertently hampering some Facebook users from disseminating content on homemade medical masks.

According to a report from the New York Times, Facebook says that an 'error' with its algorithm has been blocking content on how to make hand-sewn masks and threatening to ban the users who post it, including groups in Pennsylvania, Illinois, and California.

Some of those groups, including one called Sew Face Masks Philadelphia, had thousands of followers and had its moderators threatened with a ban if content on masks continued.

'The automated systems we set up to prevent the sale of medical masks needed by health workers have inadvertently blocked some efforts to donate supplies,' Facebook said in a statement to the New York Times.

'We apologize for this error and are working to update our systems to avoid mistakes like this going forward. We don’t want to put obstacles in the way of people doing a good thing.'

The so-called error comes as Facebook ramps up efforts to prevent users from profiting off of a protective and sanitizing products sold on the site, in particular medical masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer.  

On Facebook and other major platforms like Amazon, some sellers have used  the ongoing coronavirus pandemic in their efforts to price-gouge items, selling them for multiples beyond their average price.

SOURCE