Facebook will help users share facts about COVID-19 instead of myths

Facebook will now show messages to people who have “liked, reacted or commented on harmful” COVID-19 misinformation, the social network confirmed on Thursday.

In a bid to slow the spread of misinformation, myths and fake news on its platform, these messages will now appear on users’ timelines.

The messages will include links to the WHO’s myth debunking page, as well as encouragements to people to share the link on their timeline instead of false news.

“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,” said Facebook.

Facebook has implemented similar measures on its other platforms, including limiting the spread of viral messages on WhatsApp.

Feature image: Facebook