Instagram contributes to the fight against coronavirus

Instagram decided to use its power to spread coronavirus prevention methods by placing a special message at the top of the main page. A spokesperson for the social network told TechCrunch that the message would appear to users in countries where the epidemic has been most severe, such as Italy. The message will be a box with links to the websites of the World Health Organization and local ministries of health, as well as the following text: “Help prevent the spread of coronavirus: see the latest information from the World Health Organization so you can help prevent the spread of COVID-19.”

In addition, Instagram will block COVID-19-related augmented reality effects unless they were created in collaboration with legitimate medical organizations. This will help limit the spread of fake news and offensive jokes about the virus. Social network fact checkers are already familiar with examples of misrepresenting information on this topic, and when querying for keywords related to the coronavirus, the profiles and posts of official health organizations are the first in the search.

Instagram is not the only social network taking such measures. For example, Snapchat prohibits its partners from spreading disinformation, which has already flooded open platforms such as Facebook. The social network puts credible health posts on the home page from sources such as NBC, Sky News, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, CNN and NowThis.

This policy of entertainment social platforms is of great importance, since many more people use them daily than traditional news sources. Instagram’s monthly reach is 1 billion users, Snapchat’s daily reach is over 200 million users. Thus, social networks have the opportunity to spread vital information and act as a new form of emergency alerts.