Facebook and Instagram users urged to mask-up and help stop Covid-19 spread with new personal alerts on their feed

The social media giant has also launched a “myth-busting” section after it was found to be the number one source for online for coronavirus misinformation
Smartphone users of Facebook and Instagram will see the alert on the apps
NIGEL HOWARD ©

Mobile users of Facebook and Instagram will now see personalised alerts at the top of their news feed reminding them of the importance of wearing a face mask to help combat the transmission of Covid-19.

The company said the move was aimed to “help reduce the spread of this virus” by ensuring those logging on via smartphone apps know when to wear a mask covering their mouth and nose.

The mask alerts will start appearing on the feeds of UK app users of both social networks from today, as well as links to factual data from the World Health Organisation in a bid to combat misinformation.

Facebook will also launch a “myth-busting section” for desktop users in its Covid-19 resource pages after criticism it allowed conspiracy theories to flourish, such as falsehoods about the pandemic’s spurious link to 5G.

The alert that Facebook mobile users will see at the top of their news feed after logging on
Facebook

The influential social media giant has been criticised for being the number one source of Covid-19 misinformation online.

A study by Press Gazette published last month found 4,094 of 7,295 misleading claims about coronavirus started on Facebook, compared to 1,066 false claims originating on Twitter, 999 traced to WhatsApp, 265 on YouTube and 90 on Instagram.

In a streamed conversation with US infectious diseases expert Dr Anthony Fauci yesterday, a member of the White House's Coronavirus Task Force, the social network’s founder Mark Zuckerberg spoke of his frustrations with the Trump administration’s mishandling of the pandemic.

Both social networks will offer links to information from the WHO to help fight misinformation
Facebook

Zuckerberg said: “I personally think we need to take this a lot more seriously...our understanding of the disease, of course, is evolving, and our response needs to be guided by science and our latest scientific understanding.”

He added: “It’s really disappointing that we still don’t have adequate testing, that the credibility of our top scientists like yourself and the (Centres for Disease Control and Prevention) are being undermined, and that until recently, that parts of the administration were calling into question whether people should even follow basic best practices like wearing masks."

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