With the coronavirus pandemic rapidly escalating, tech companies are doing their part to prevent fake news from spreading about the virus.
Companies such as Apple, Google, Microsoft, Twitter, and WhatsApp are providing users with prompts and tools for genuine information about the virus. While Instagram and WhatsApp have already rolled out similar tools, Facebook is now opening up the Messenger to governments and medical agencies.
As per Facebook's announcement on Messenger News, government health organizations and UN health agencies will be provided with free developer tools to allow them to use Messenger to scale their response to the COVID-19 crisis. Facebook is also allowing government health organizations and UN health agencies to proactively send important updates related to COVID-19 to people already messaging them.
On Tuesday Facebook said "Argentina’s Ministry of Health is launching a Messenger experience, with support from Botmaker.com, to answer questions from the public about the coronavirus, and to provide fast, reliable and official advice 24 hours a day."
Facebook also said that organizations like UNICEF and Pakistan’s Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations & Coordination (NHSRC) are also using Messenger to ensure people have the latest information about COVID-19.
Facebook has also announced that it is launching a virtual (online) hackathon to see how developers can create messaging solutions to help promote some of the important aspects of fighting the coronavirus, such as social distancing and more general information services.
Comments