Twitter is taking action to help stop the spread of the coronavirus, at least online.
The social media platform has announced new measures that are being taken to help mitigate the effects of the coronavirus, including misinformation.
“Update: We’re expanding our safety rules to include content that could place people at a higher risk of transmitting COVID-19,” Twitter wrote in a tweet on Wednesday evening.
https://twitter.com/TwitterSafety/status/1240418439870607361
The thread listed examples of tweets that would be eligible for removal, including “denial of expert guidance, encouragement to use fake or ineffective treatments, preventions, and diagnostic techniques, and misleading content purporting to be from experts or authorities.”
Twitter released a formal update on their policy and how the platform is working with groups to help lessen the impact of the coronavirus.
“As the entire world faces an unprecedented public health emergency, we want to be open about the challenges we are facing and the contingency measures we’re putting in place to serve the public conversation at this critical time,” the statement reads, adding, “We are regularly working with and looking to trusted partners, including public health authorities, organizations, and governments to inform our approach.”
For updates on the coronavirus, Twitter has dedicated an event page and an additional Twitter account, TwitterSafety.
https://twitter.com/TwitterSafety/status/1240418443498643456
Twitter is not the only social media platform to open a gateway to more information on the coronavirus.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told reporters on Wednesday that the company will be including credible information about the coronavirus at the top of users’ news feeds. The additional feature is called the “coronavirus information center.”
The company also wrote in a tweet the announcement of the addition to the social media platform.
“Today we’re launching the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information Center, a place for people to get the latest updates from health authorities and find resources for staying healthy,” Facebook tweeted.
Today we're launching the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information Center, a place for people to get the latest updates from health authorities and find resources for staying healthy.
— Meta (@Meta) March 18, 2020
➡️ https://t.co/KaJrnq7WMi pic.twitter.com/A3arjhJPSo
The United States has reportedly at least 9,400 confirmed cases, as of Thursday morning.
