When Instagram users click the hashtag #coronavirus, they’ll now see a notice instructing them to visit the Center for Disease Control and Prevention website.
“Looking for coronavirus info?” the page reads. “See the most up-to-date information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to help you stay healthy and help prevent the spread of the virus.”
According to BuzzFeed News, Instagram implemented the change on Sunday after its parent company, Facebook, announced plans to combat information about the deadly virus.
“When people search for information related to the virus on Facebook or tap a related hashtag on Instagram, we will surface an educational pop-up with credible information,” Facebook said in its announcement.
Facebook also said it’s blocking and restricting hashtags on Instagram that have been used to spread misinformation and is “conducting proactive sweeps to find and remove as much of this content as we can.”
The CDC warning reportedly follows similar initiatives already already underway for other social media platforms. Pinterest, for example, placed a disclaimer above pins and hashtags related to the coronavirus.
BuzzFeed reports that Facebook and Instagram have also offered free advertising credits to health organizations that want to add educational coronavirus ads on their platforms. The platforms are “closely coordinating” with these organizations to provide “accurate information about the situation,” BuzzFeed writes.
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