Instagram to remove coronavirus related content from recommendations

The coronavirus outbreak has stoked a wave of anti-China sentiment around the globe. Hoaxes have spread widely online, promoted by conspiracy theorists and exacerbated by a dearth of information from the cordoned-off zone around China’s central city of Wuhan, where the outbreak began.
Facebook’s Instagram said on Tuesday it would remove coronavirus-related content and accounts from recommendations and its “explore” option, unless posted by or belonging to credible health organisations.

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“We will also start to downrank content in feed and Stories that have been rated false by third-party-fact checkers,” the photo-sharing platform added.

Last week, Twitter barred users from posting misleading information about the new coronavirus, including denials of expert guidance and encouragement of fake treatments, tightening its normally lax rules around speech.

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Facebook, earlier this month, said it would provide free advertisements to the World Health Organisation (WHO) as it seeks to ensure users are not misinformed about the virus, its risks and how to react to it.

TikTok, owned by China’s Bytedance, and Pinterest do ban health misinformation and are actively removing false coronavirus content, they told Reuters.