Facebook will start promoting good information as misleading posts about the novel coronavirus continue to spread on social media. COO Sheryl Sandberg said Monday the social media giant would remove harmful misinformation and that the company had "all hands on deck."
Sandberg recently posted a video with her fiance Tom Bernthal, CEO of Kelton Global, about the proper way of washing hands. The Facebook exec believes this type of "good information" is essential in a time of health crisis.
Thank you so much, Sheryl Sandberg and Tom, for accepting the #SafeHands challenge and modeling hand hygiene! My WHO colleagues and I genuinely appreciate all that you, Mark and the teams at Facebook are doing in the fight against COVID-19. Solidarity!https://t.co/uLYanHOESN — Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) March 16, 2020
"We are taking down any harmful misinformation about the coronavirus," Sandberg told Bloomberg. Facebook and the World Health Organization, along with local health authorities, are working together to remove false posts and fake news on the social media site.
WHO's director-general Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was quick to praise Sandberg and Bernthal on Twitter for promoting good hygiene. He also commended Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg for the company's efforts in stopping false information.
Facebook employs third-party fact-checkers who are in charge of removing content that could cause harm among netizens, as well as limiting the reach of posts that are considered fake news. Despite the efforts of social media sites to control misinformation, however, false posts continue to proliferate online.
Earlier this month, The New York Times reported that misleading and false posts about COVID-19 manage to make way on social media in the form of photos and videos. Public posts should be easy to track down, but posts in private Facebook groups are more difficult to detect, including encrypted WhatsApp messages. Sandberg is also concerned about the spread of conspiracy theories, particularly posts claiming that the coronavirus is caused by 5G and that the disease was invented by the pharmaceutical industry.
Zuckerberg, in a recent interview, said that Facebook would implement more stringent policies to protect netizens from false news. The initiative should help control health misinformation that could further harm people.
Facebook is raising funds to be donated to the World Health Organization and the United Nations Foundation, aiming to reach $10 million in donations. As of writing, the social network has crossed the $3 million mark and is still accepting donations.
The fight against the novel coronavirus isn't just about physically protecting people -- it's also about dispelling rumors and conspiracy theories about it. Many companies and government agencies are already taking steps to combat health misinformation and are using social media and TV to spread informative and factual reminders.
