Following the latest announcements around coronavirus-related content measures from Facebook and Twitter, Instagram has now also detailed how it’s working to guide users towards accurate, relevant updates on the situation.

The first focus is information accuracy – Instagram says that it’s working to remove “known harmful misinformation related to COVID-19”, while it’s also now highlighting links to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and local health authorities​ whenever someone taps on a hashtag related to COVID-19.

Instagram’s also fact-checking potentially misleading posts, blocking and restricting hashtags which are being used to spread misinformation, and is aligned with Facebook’s ban on any ads seeking to exploit the situation

In addition, Instagram’s highlighting the accounts of leading health organizations in coronavirus-related searches, while it’s also mapping out a longer-term solution to help connect people searching for COVID-19 related terms with credible information.​

Expanding on this, Facebook has separately announced a ban on all ads and commerce listings for medical face masks.

Given the significant role that social platforms now play in the distribution of news and information, it’s important that they are going to these efforts, and seeking to ensure that misinformation is not being spread through their networks. 

And thus far, most platforms appear to be doing a pretty good job of managing such, helping to keep the public informed, and lessening hoax and misleading takes. 

Given Instagram’s popularity, it too is now a key consideration in such, so it’s good to see the platform taking proactive measures, and seeking enhanced solutions to assist.