Facebook and Instagram will point users to information from the World Health Organization and censor nonofficial information it deems harmful in an effort to combat coronavirus-related misinformation.
Instagram said in a blog post on Tuesday that it will remove coronavirus-related accounts and content from its recommendations section, which typically highlights popular accounts and content unless they come from a “credible health organization,” such as the WHO and local health authorities.
In addition, it said it would also “start to downrank content in feed and Stories that has been rated false by third-party-fact checkers,” and that Instagram had already put several new policies into effect “to prevent people from exploiting this public health emergency.”
To promote social distancing on social media, it is also rolling out a new feature called ‘Co-Watching,’ which will allow people to browse posts with their friends over an in-app video chat.
Instagram’s parent company Facebook announced on Tuesday that it would also remove coronavirus content and accounts from its recommendations that were not posted by credible health organizations. It will also try to promote accurate information by helping people find related nonprofit organizations to support and by adding relevant ‘stickers’ for people to use in their posts online.
