#Trending: Facebook Launches A New Section That Will Debunk Myths About The Coronavirus And Limit The Spread Of Misleading Information

#Trending: Facebook Launches A New Section That Will Debunk Myths About The Coronavirus And Limit The Spread Of Misleading Information

Am I the only one who finds it super annoying that every conversation nowadays turns into a conversation about coronavirus? Don’t get me wrong, of course, the deadly virus that is terrorizing us all needs to be spoken about. What is getting annoying is that everyone has their own version of what is going on and what is going to happen. There is so much information available about the coronavirus that now, it’s gotten extremely difficult to weed out the misleading information from the truth. I mean, come on, how were we to know that drinking cow urine will not cure coronavirus? 

Here’s the thing though, from WhatsApp forwards to Twitter, social media is brimming with information about the coronavirus. And we have no way of knowing what’s true and what’s not. I still don’t understand how people think WhatsApp forwards are a reliable source of information, but well. We are living in pandemic times, it is more essential than ever to have the right information. People are now panicking like crazy because of all the fake information out there. You don’t want to go around injecting bleach and detergent into yourself for no good reason (It’s one of Trump’s ingenious ideas). 

I don’t know if people realise but it does us more harm than good to keep believing the myths and stereotypes that have been circulating because of all the uncertainty that surrounds the coronavirus. Let’s be honest, a whole chunk of the information about this is at least a little bogus. To combat this problem and to dispel all the misleading information there is, Facebook has come up with a brilliant solution.   

The social media platform announced that they would be launching a new section on their app and website, that would focus on dispelling inaccurate myths about the coronavirus. 

This is their latest effort to curb the spread of misinformation and to remind people to stay safe. The company took to Twitter to announce their new initiative. 

The tweet read, “To further limit the spread of misinformation, we’re also launching Facts About Covid-19, a section in the Covid Information Center that will debunk common myths about the pandemic.” 

Facebook will use the World Health Organization (WHO) as a trusted source of information. The section, Facts about Covid-19, will have simple facts like “Hydroxychloroquine hasn’t been proven to cure, treat, or prevent it.” Huh, do you think they will talk about cow urine?? They should. 

The company said, “We have connected over two billion people to resources from health authorities through our Covid-19 Information Centre and pop-ups on Facebook and Instagram with over 600 million people clicking through to learn more.” 

Also Read: This Man Would Not Let His Wife Enter The House After A Three Month Separation Because He Feared She Would Infect Him. We Need To Calm Down

Further adding, “Since January, people have raised over $100 million for Covid-19 related fundraisers on Facebook and Instagram” 

In the same Twitter thread, Facebook also said that they will be putting alerts at the top of Facebook and Instagram pages to remind everyone to wear masks. 

Facebook and Instagram are undoubtedly one of the most influential spaces for content generation. So, an initiative like this by them can really help limit the flow of fake information. It’s really shocking that despite having been at war with this pest (coronavirus) for months, we still know very little. No information we get is certain. But I would rather have uncertain information from the WHO than certain information from my mother’s WhatsApp or well, Trump. Wouldn’t you? 

I can’t wait to see what kind of facts this new section of Facebook entails. Is it too much to hope that it magically has the cure? No, I am not delusional but a girl can dream.

https://thehauterfly.com/lifestyle/tiktok-india-initiated-a-campaign-to-stop-the-spread-of-fake-news-we-think-this-is-extremely-relevant-and-necessary/

Mitali Shah

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