Instagram shares details on how its combating coronavirus misinformation

In a series of tweets from its ‘Comms’ account, Instagram shared some of the steps it’s taking to promote credible information about coronavirus, also called COVID-19.

To start, the social media network says it’s removing “known harmful misinformation” related to coronavirus. Further, when someone taps on a hashtag related to COVID-19, Instagram displays resources from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other local health authorities.

We’re removing known harmful misinformation related to COVID-19, and when someone taps on a hashtag related to COVID-19, we show resources from @WHO, @CDC and local health authorities. pic.twitter.com/Dw2Y8ZwfaI

— Instagram Comms (@InstagramComms) March 6, 2020

In Canada, this includes a link to the government’s COVID-19 FAQ page, which you can also access here.

Additionally, Instagram says it’s sending potentially misleading posts to its fact-checking partners for review, blocking and restricting hashtags used to spread misinformation and banning ads that exploit the situation.

Finally, the social media company says it’s considering longer-term solutions to help connect people searching for COVID-19 and related terms to credible information. For now, however, Instagram will show the accounts of leading health organizations in these searches to connect users to credible resources.

Finally, we’re thinking through a longer term solution to help connect people searching COVID-19 related terms with credible information. In the meantime, we’re showing the accounts of leading health organizations in these searches to better connect people to credible resources. pic.twitter.com/RUNwJh94Cf

— Instagram Comms (@InstagramComms) March 6, 2020

Instagram says it will have more to share in the coming weeks.

Those interested can view the whole thread on Twitter and learn more about how Instagram is combating COVID-19 misinformation.

Source: Twitter