Coronavirus Outbreak: Instagram steps up efforts to curb spread of misinformation amid rising COVID-19 cases

Several social media companies have been donating and taking steps to help deal with the global health crisis caused by the coronavirus outbreak. Now, the photo-sharing app Instagram has come up with regulations in order to stop the spread of misinformation regarding the deadly virus. [caption id=“attachment_7467111” align=“alignnone” width=“1024”]  Instagram. Image: Tech2[/caption] In a blog post, the Facebook-owned firm announced that anyone who searches for information regarding coronavirus or COVID-19 will be directed to an “educational message” connecting the user to “resources from the World Health Organization (WHO) and local health ministries”. The platform with over one billion users across the world was gearing up to make these accessible “globally over the coming weeks”, the post added. [caption id=“attachment_8190061” align=“alignnone” width=“782”]  Image: Instagram[/caption] The novel coronavirus disease has infected over 4,20,000 people across the globe, while India has recorded over 500 positive cases. Instagram’s new initiative will attempt to stop people from sharing unverified news on social media, which can lead to the wide circulation of myths on the pandemic. (Also read:  Instagram will now let you share and browse posts while you are on video chat ) The company also announced that Instagram stickers signifying “verified coronavirus information” would be also launched. Instagram will remove any post on a health-related claim if it has not been “posted by a credible health organization”. Aside from these, people will get tips on maintaining social distancing through the app. Instagram will also throw up donation links to non-profit organizations for users.