In Nigeria and nine other African countries, Facebook is launching a new campaign in partnership with the World Health Organisation (WHO) called ‘Together Against Covid-19 Misinformation’.
The campaign, according to press release issued by Facebook on Monday, will roll out to people in English and French.
Facebook said the messages will show up on Facebook through a series of graphics with tips on how to spot false news.
Other countries where the social media company will launch the campaign include South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire and Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic Facebook has been working to connect people to accurate information and reduce misinformation on its platforms.
Last month it announced the biggest worldwide campaign to promote authoritative information about Covid-19 vaccines – working to remove false vaccine claims, reduce distribution of inaccurate health information, and inform people about effective vaccine delivery.
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The Public Policy Manager at Facebook said, “Ensuring users are getting authoritative information about Covid-19 vaccines is just some of the vital work we’re doing here at Facebook. During the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, we’ll continue working with industry experts and people on our platforms to ensure we’re aggressively tackling misinformation, and giving people additional resources to scrutinize content they see online, helping them decide what to read, trust and share.”
As part of the campaign, Facebook said it is launching a dedicated website in English and French, which will include information on how it is tackling misinformation on our platforms.
According to Facebook, the website will give people more transparency around Facebook’s ‘Remove’, ‘Reduce’ and ‘Inform’ strategy, outline community standards, and share the steps the company is taking to combat false news around global events such as Covid-19, elections and climate change.
