The recent Corona Virus outbreak has also led to a lot of misleading information going around on Social Media. Facebook and Twitter have made announcements on the measures they have taken around bogus coronavirus-related content. With this, Instagram has also decided to implement the same and guide their users towards accurate, relevant updates on the situation as well.
Instagram’s first focus is the accuracy of information, therefore they are working on removing “known harmful misinformation related to COVID-19″, and whenever a user taps on a hashtag related to COVID-19, links to leading health organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO), the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and local health authorities will be highlighted. Instagram is also in the process of planning out a long term solution to help connect users in search of credible information related to COVID-19.
In addition, potential misleading posts are being fact-checked, while hashtags that are used to spread misinformation are being blocked and restricted. In order to prevent exploitation of the Corona situation, Instagram has aligned with Facebook’s ban on ads as well.
Expanding on this, a separate ban on all ads and business listings for medical face masks have been announced by Facebook. Due to the fact that social media plays a massive role in the distribution of news and information, it is essential that all efforts are put in to ensuring that there is no misinformation being spread through their social networks. It is pleasing to see the effort put in by platforms to manage and ensure that the information shared is accurate and informs the public, securing them from hoaxes and misleading information.
Given that Instagram is one of the most popular Social Media platforms, it is nice to see the platform taking proactive measures in such a situation.
