With coronavirus updates lining up our notifs, we can also see the rapid spread of misinformation. This results in not just inducing panic, but people are also taking false measures due to such news. Therefore, erasing this culture has now become more and more necessary.

Source: The Drum

For this purpose, Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Reddit, Twitter and YouTube have come together to curb the sources of false information as far as the pandemic is concerned. 

Through Facebook, the companies released a statement, “We are working closely together on COVID-19 response efforts. We’re helping millions of people stay connected while also jointly combating fraud and misinformation about the virus, elevating authoritative content on our platforms, and sharing critical updates in coordination with government healthcare agencies around the world. We invite other companies to join us as we work to keep our communities healthy and safe.”

Google also posted a similar statement on its Twitter account.

Source: Twitter

Since the spread of the virus, the government ensured that tech companies joined forces to combat false news. Facebook promised in February that it would ban all the advertisements for cures and devise strategies to “limit the spread of misinformation and harmful content about the virus and [connect] people to helpful information.”

Similarly, Google said last week that the company has programmed a 24-hour incident response team that will fight against the misinformation. They guaranteed that their plan would bring authentic data to the users and remove any content that promotes fake cures and measures. 

Twitter also removed content that spread false information about the outbreak. YouTube said that they would accommodate their policy by not giving ads to any virus-related video. However, they did not follow through and backed down from their statement quite quickly.

Source: YouTube

Just last week, Microsoft introduced a coronavirus tracker that can notify you of all the cases reported in your region. Google’s sister company, Verily also joined forces with the state of California to come up with a screening app, and we are awaiting updates on its advanced features too.

Source: Twitter

Another company that is not included in the list above but has been taking active measures against misleading information is Amazon. It removed all the products that claimed to cure coronavirus and banned millions of advertisements that increased the prices for hygiene products like sanitizers and toilet papers.

So far, coronavirus has killed more than 7100 people, and within the last few days, the number of affected people in the United States keeps increasing. In such a situation, it is important to focus on authentic news only to avoid panic and help the government in forming an effective plan to deal with the outbreak.