Social-Media
Instagram is releasing new updates on COVID-19 details
Instagram announces two new features to help fight COVID-19 misinformation: users in developing cases will see a connection to their local health authorities at the top of their feed, and those looking for updates on vaccinations will now be led to reputable health outlets.
These steps will be taken in addition to the social network banning hashtags containing misinformation about the vaccine, which has also been stated in the announcement of tweets. These features come from the fact that many platform providers are taking measures to prevent coronavirus misinformation from spreading at a critical time for the US, as health facilities are dealing with record hospitalizations, and the first of the approved COVID-19 vaccines is starting to roll out.
With more countries around the world seeing a rise in COVID-19 cases, we’re launching two features to help people stay up-to-date and get information from credible sources directly on Instagram.
— Instagram Comms (@InstagramComms) December 17, 2020
Facebook, Instagram's parent company (for now has rolled out its own misinformation-fighting feature, sending alerts to users if they have interacted with posts that contain it. YouTube has begun to add cards below the pandemic images, connecting to outlets such as the CDC and WHO the same organizations that Instagram uses as examples. Twitter has also recently announced that it would delete misinformation on the COVID-19 vaccine.
