Facebook and WHO Launch Covid-19 Misinformation Campaign Across Select African Countries
Facebook has today launched a new Covid-19 misinformation campaign in partnership with the WHO across a number of African countries. The campaign called ‘Together Against Covid-19 Misinformation’. will roll out to people in English and French across South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Nigeria, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire and DRC, and will show up on Facebook through a series of graphics with tips on how to spot false news.
Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic Facebook says it 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.
Aïda Ndiaye, Public Policy Manager, 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 will also be launching a dedicated website in English and French, which will include information on how we’re tackling misinformation on our platforms. It will give people more transparency around our Remove, Reduce and Inform strategy, outline our community standards, and share the steps we’re taking to combat false news around global events such as Covid-19, elections and climate change.
