Facebook will guide users who “like” coronavirus hoaxes to better sourcesApril 17, 2020 - 11:16 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Facebook just announced another step in trying to set the record straight about misleading information about the novel coronavirus on its platform. In the coming weeks, the company will start directing people who have previously “liked,” reacted, or commented on “harmful misinformation” about Covid-19 to information from more authoritative sources, such as a myth-busters website by the World Health Organization (WHO). This represents one of the first times Facebook will warn a specific set of users who have interacted in the past with false information, Vox says. “We want to connect people who may have interacted with harmful misinformation about the virus with the truth from authoritative sources in case they see or hear these claims again off of Facebook,” wrote Guy Rosen, Facebook’s vice president of integrity, in a company blog post released on Thursday. The notifications will apply only to Facebook and not its other platforms like Instagram and WhatsApp. Since the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis, social media users have been posting popular and dangerous hoaxes about the virus, including false cures and myths about the origins of the outbreak. In response, companies like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter have been stepping up their measures to flag and sometimes delete this type of content. In March alone, Facebook says it labeled 40 million posts as “false” on its network, relying on its team of independent third-party fact-checkers. Still, plenty of bad information that fact-checkers don’t catch regularly slips through the cracks — or is caught only after tens of thousands of users have already seen the posts in question. Top stories Yerevan will host the 2024 edition of the World Congress On Information Technology (WCIT). Rustam Badasyan said due to the lack of such regulation, the state budget is deprived of VAT revenues. Krisp’s smart noise suppression tech silences ambient sounds and isolates your voice for calls. Gurgen Khachatryan claimed that the "illegalities have been taking place in 2020." Partner news Most popular in the section | Pashinyan’s spokesperson denies intention to visit Baku for COP29 Pashinyan’s agenda doesn’t include a trip to Baku for the COP29 conference, his press secretary Nazeli Baghdasaryan has said. Russia accuses West of preparing invasion of CSTO countries NATO is preparing an invasion of the CSTO countries, the number of provocations in the air is growing, Sergei Shoigu has said. Lithuania sending €100,000 to help Armenia fight floods consequences Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan took to social media to thank his Lithuanian counterpart for the contribution. Armenia: Rescue workers restore pedestrian bridge for flood-hit community Rescue workers on Wednesday, June 5 restored a pedestrian bridge in the town of Alaverdi in Armenia’s north. |