Facebook, as a part of its ongoing efforts to combat the spread of misinformation, has launched a service in Italy to check the accuracy of Corona virus-related information circulating on the platform.
Italy is currently ground zero for the coronavirus outbreak in Europe, and Facebook-owned WhatsApp is the country’s most popular messaging application. The IM has become a catalyst for hoaxes, misinformation, and bluffs for years now. The pandemic is no exception.
Hence, to help with the situation, Facebook and Facta have launched a joint effort via WhatsApp for users in Italy. To check the authenticity of the news, users can send the content (messages, videos, audios, or photos) to Facta through WhatsApp.
As per data from Reuters, WhatsApp has more than 2 billion users worldwide, and traffic has spiked since the world is going through a quarantine period.
Facebook is constantly adding new features and services to its portfolio as an attempt to help with the ongoing situation. The social media giant recently expanded its community health feature such that people in a neighborhood can request and offer assistance to each other. This feature has been rolled out to the US, UK, France, Australia, and Canada and will be available to the rest of the world in the upcoming weeks.
