Facebook will be adding new features to help give warning to users against fake news involving COVID-19, says a recent article.


Anti-Misinformation Messages

On Wednesday, Mark Zuckerberg, the Chief Executive Officer of Facebook, announced the debut of Facebook's new features. The new features include implementing incorporating anti-misinformation messages in the news feeds of those who will like, share, or comment on Facebook posts with erroneous information regarding the current pandemic.


The target of the Update

Based on the statement of Zuckerberg, the update on Facebook targets to network users with accurate information and lessen the spread of COVID-19 misinformation.


The New Facebook Features

One of the new features on Facebook is a box that will pop up for those who will be liking, reacting, and commenting on a post removed by Facebook. This encourages Facebook users to visit the website of the World Health Organization, also known as WHO, to find more reliable and accurate information.


Facebook's Expansion of Fact-Checking Coverage

Since the start of March, Facebook had been exerting efforts to expand its fact-checking coverage to many nations in the world. Currently, the company is collaborating with more than 60 fact-checking companies that analyze content in at least 50 languages.


Taking Down Harmful Misinformation in Facebook

According to Mark Zuckerberg, if a content placed on the platform contains harmful information that tended to cause potential physical harm, the company will immediately take in down. The company had already taken down hundreds of thousands of content that contains misinformation about the current pandemic that is devastating to different parts of the world. This misinformation includes the intake of bleach to cure the deadly SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Additionally, Facebook had taken down content that states that social distancing is not effective at preventing the spread of COVID-19.


Applying Warning Labels to Posts Rated as False by Fact-Checkers

After fact-checkers designate a Facebook post as false, the company lessen its distribution and incorporate warning labels on them.

In March, Facebook was able to include warnings on more or less 40 million posts about COVID-19, which are based on a minimum of 4,000 articles analyzed by independent fact-checkers.


The Effectivity of the Warning Labels Facebook Posts

It was found out by Facebook that the warning labels feature they had included in the platform were effective. The reason for this insight is that Facebook users no longer interact with posts with warnings 95% of the time.


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Additional Features for the Social Media Platform

Additionally, Facebook will be launching in a separate period a 'Get the Facts' section. The section will contain evaluated news involving COVID-19. This is part of the COVID-19 Information Center of Facebook that features articles created by independent fact-checking groups to help debunk fake news related to COVID-19.

According to Zuckerberg, his top priority is to ensure that all of the company's app users can access accurate and authoritative information.