Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday said the company would soon be launching an information center where users can find news and information on the novel coronavirus.
The portal, which is expected to roll out on Thursday, will be featured at the top of users’ news feeds and will include information from the World Health Organization and other groups. The launch comes as Facebook is aiming to curb misinformation centered around COVID-19. Zuckerberg made the announcement while on a group call with reporters.
“The top priority for us has been making sure people can get access to good trustworthy information about the outbreak from reliable sources,” Zuckerberg said.
The announcement comes a day after Facebook said it would pay its full-time employees a $1,000 bonus to help deal with the coronavirus outbreak. It also comes a day after an internal glitch led to a number of articles on coronavirus being flagged as spam.
Zuckerberg said coronavirus misinformation is being prioritized over political misinformation, because it’s “in a completely different class of content than the back-and-forth accusations a candidate might make in an election.”
Facebook has been a useful communication tool for Italians and Spaniards on lockdown, Zuckerberg said, with the usage spike akin to the surge the company sees around New Year’s. This has the company watching closely to make sure its infrastructure doesn’t fold under the weight of increased usage, Zuckerberg said.
And like most Facebook employees — and millions of Americans — Zuckerberg added he’s been adjusting to working from home, while also keeping an eye on his kids.