• Upon the search of COVID-19 on Facebook, the site will directly link to a local health organization and help prevent the spread of misinformation

Facebook will be offering the World Health Organization (WHO) free ad space to assist in providing information on COVID-19, which is a disease caused by the spread of coronavirus. Mark Zuckerberg stated that social media giant will provide WHO as many ads required to be able to reach out to the maximum number of people.

Apparently, it will also be offering other organizations with ad credits and has been closely working with UNICEF, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and other national ministries of health. The process has already been initiated, as the first result upon the search of COVID-19 or coronavirus directs to a link to the website of a local health organization.

According to reliable sources, Facebook has laid emphasis on curbing the spread of hoaxes and misinformation regarding the virus. It is planning to eliminate false theories for conspiracy and will be blocking ads that will offer false promises for a cure or even make other misleading claims.

A successful campaign such as this could prove to be a welcome relief to all the users who have been witnessing outbreaks within their communities or people who have been apprehensive about the spread of the disease. However, promises to stop the spread of misinformation by Facebook has been questioned on account of its difficulty in curbing false ads on the platform in the past.

Seemingly, Facebook is one of the several technology companies that has extended free services concerning the virus. Recently, Google made an announcement that it shall provide all its G Suite customers with free access to advanced Hangouts features while Microsoft has been offering a free trial for six months for all its premium tier of Microsoft Teams.

For the record, 92,000 people infected with COVID-19 have been confirmed, with over 3000 deaths. The outbreaks have taken over to Italy, South Korea, and Japan from China.

Source Credit- https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/4/21164496/facebook-coronavirus-world-health-organization-free-ads