Facebook to ban ads creating 'sense of urgency' over coronavirus
What's the story
As coronavirus or COVID-19 outbreak continues to claim lives around the world, Facebook is working to tackle the misinformation associated with it.
The social network has announced a bunch of policy changes, which, it hopes, will curb the spread of false ads/sponsored posts that could fan the panic stemming from the outbreak and 'create a sense of urgency' around it.
Here's more.
Issue
Social media being used for fear-mongering, promising cures
Ever since coronavirus started spreading, online platforms like Facebook/Google have become the hotbeds of misleading information and fear-mongering.
People have been sharing incorrect information about the outbreak, leading many into believing that the virus has breached their country and is spreading quickly, even when that's not the case.
Some have even used this fear to make money by claiming to have a coronavirus cure.
Action
Now, Facebook is banning such misleading ads
Facebook, which had already pledged to tackle the spread of coronavirus misinformation, has introduced a stricter set of rules to take action against misleading ads.
As part of this, the company has said that it will ban any ad that claims to offer a cure for coronavirus, a way to prevent or creates a 'sense of urgency' around the outbreak, Business Insider reported.
Quote
Here's what Facebook said about the changes
"We recently implemented a policy to prohibit ads that refer to the coronavirus and create a sense of urgency, like implying a limited supply or guaranteeing a cure or prevention. We also have policies for surfaces like Marketplace that prohibit similar behavior."
Other action
Company already removing misleading coronavirus posts
Facebook's action against ads comes a month after it announced the plan to take down fake coronavirus-related posts, which "have been flagged by leading global health organizations and local health organizations and local health authorities" as potentially dangerous.
Prior to that, the fact-checkers working for the social network were only checking the authenticity of posts and suppressing them on the newsfeed.
Situation
Coronavirus has already claimed over 2,700 lives worldwide
Coronavirus or COVID-19 has affected more than 80,000 people and claimed nearly 2,700 lives so far.
The virus originated from the Chinese city of Wuhan and has drastically affected the country over the last two months - with no sign for a cure or vaccine.
The outbreak has even affected the tech industry, with MWC 2020 being canceled and several Chinese factories/offices/stores being shuttered.