Facebook will put vetted information about novel coronavirus at the top of users’ New Feed to tackle the spread of fake health information. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that a collection of information from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will begin appearing on top of the feed in the coming days, reports TechCrunch.
“We’re going to be putting it at the top of everyone’s Facebook feed”, Zuckerberg said in a press call on Wednesday. Facebook will also roll out its own coronavirus information hub on the social network. The information hub would be up in ‘a number’ of US locations and some in Europe in the next 24 hours, with a more global rollout later. “Were designing it to be very adaptive on a day to day basis”, said Zuckerberg. Facebook also announced it would make its enterprise connectivity platform ‘Workplace’ free for the government and for emergency services.
Facebook-owned WhatsApp on Wednesday launched a Coronavirus Information Hub and announced a $1 million donation to the Poynter Institute’s International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN). Launched in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and UNDP, the WhatsApp Coronavirus Information Hub is designed to provide simple, actionable guidance for health workers, educators, community leaders, nonprofits, local governments and local businesses that rely on WhatsApp to communicate.
It will also offer general tips and resources for users around the world to reduce the spread of rumors. The $1 million grant to the IFCN will support fact-checking for the #CoronaVirusFacts Alliance, which spans more than 100 local organizations in at least 45 countries.
