After a spike in fake COVID-19 related posts, the social media giant Facebook geared up its efforts to curb misinformation about the disease. The platform will now send notifications directly to users who like, share, or comment on COVID-19 posts that violate the company’s terms of service.
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If a user interacts with a post that’s later removed, Facebook will notify them. In case the user clicks on the notification, he/she will be taken to a landing page with a screenshot of the post and a short explanation for why it was removed.
Moreover, in order to spread awareness regarding the matter, the landing page will also feature links to COVID-19 educational resources and actions.
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Initially, users who had engaged with content that had been removed only saw a banner on their newsfeed saying “Help Friends and Family Avoid False Information About Covid-19.” However, most users did not understand what the banner was referring to.
Hence, the company came up with this new and rather direct approach in hopes to help users understand that they clicked on a fake article/link without shaming them or re-exposing them to misinformation. Nevertheless, this new approach does not debunk the claims made in removed posts. Maybe the company will launch an update for that too.
