Facebook gives WHO free ads in battle with coronavirus misinformation

 

FILE PHOTO: A Facebook logo is displayed on a smartphone in this illustration taken January 6, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

 

(Reuters) - Facebook Inc will provide free advertisements to the World Health Organization (WHO) as it seeks to ensure users are not misinformed about the virus, its risks and how to react to it, Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said on Tuesday.

 

"We're giving the WHO as many free ads as they need for their coronavirus response along with other in-kind support," Zuckerberg said bit.ly/3aqdihN in the Facebook post.

 

Users who search for posts on the virus on Facebook would now see a pop-up that directs them to the WHO or local health authority for the latest information, Zuckerberg said.

 

He also pledged again that the company would remove false claims and conspiracy theories flagged by leading global health organizations to help combat misinformation about the coronavirus.

 

Facebook will be working with global health experts and give support and “millions more in ad credits” to other organizations.

 

In February, the company said it would ban advertisements for products offering any cures or prevention around the coronavirus outbreak, and those that create a sense of urgency around the situation.

 

The disease, believed to have originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has spread around the world, infecting nearly 93,000 people globally as of March 3.

 

Other social media platforms have been taking steps to improve their coverage of the virus. Searches on Pinterest for “coronavirus” take users to a curated web page while WHO launched an account on video app TikTok late last week.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-03-04

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hOw charitable.....after ruining the arena of public discourse.

Edited March 4, 20206 yr by JHolmesJr

13 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

(Reuters) - Facebook Inc will provide free advertisements to the World Health Organization (WHO) as it seeks to ensure users are not misinformed about the virus, its risks and how to react to it, Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said on Tuesday.

what spineless pandering; WHO can afford their own adds; amounts to giving me what i already have

Ah yes, single source information. Works great for China, why not everywhere.

17 hours ago, rabas said:

Ah yes, single source information. Works great for China, why not everywhere.

And yet multiple sources of information are mentioned.

 

18 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Other social media platforms have been taking steps to improve their coverage of the virus. Searches on Pinterest for “coronavirus” take users to a curated web page while WHO launched an account on video app TikTok late last week.

Mind you, describing Facebook as a “single source of information site” seems fanciful, but it would most definitely explain the craziness seen in a lot of posts by right wing loonies.... y’all see Facebook and twittering as a rendition of the truth, vs gossip and chatter.

Edited March 5, 20206 yr by jany123

Free ads for the WHO = Free ads for China.

18 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

while WHO launched an account on video app TikTok late last week

TikTok is Chinese spyware.

Lets hope they also get to counter the anti-vax nonsense when a vaccine is introduced in about a year's time