The rules to try to stop the coronavirus as much as possible have even reached Instagram. The platform has made certain decisions to fight COVID-19, but how exactly is that done on a social network?
Why there are new rules on Instagram by COVID-19
The coronavirus unfortunately continues to advance and all the measures are few to manage to contain the contagion. The establishments are closing, the entrances and exits of the cities are being controlled – well … some – and even the social networks are trying to adopt measures.
This is the case of Instagram, which has decided to apply certain rules with a view to fighting the virus. But how exactly is it done being an online platform where there is no physical contact between people? Well, watching and being very strict with the information that is shared. At this time, it is very easy to make any type of fake news viral as well as recommendations that are not effective.
So that this type of data does not reach people, the social network has reported through a thread on its official Twitter account that new measures have been taken to have a ” safe community “:
We’re working to keep the Instagram community safe and informed on COVID-19. Here’s an update on some of the changes we’ve made so far:
– Instagram Comms (@InstagramComms) March 6, 2020
The idea, as we say, is to monitor much more what is being told in a medium that serves as a loudspeaker for millions of people in the world and thus control whether alarmist or erroneous information is reported. It is also sought with this idea that some advertisers do not take advantage of the situation. A few days ago we told you that Facebook (owner, in fact, of Instagram, remember) was going to control the advertising for the sale of masks (which only exploits despair and ignorance of people) and Instagram has decided to do the same so that nobody takes advantage of this extraordinary situation.
The measures of Instagram by COVID 19
These are the measures to be followed by the platform to try to control the situation and help:
- Deletion of incorrect and harmful information related to the COVID-19.
- When someone searches for hashtags related to the coronavirus, resources from official accounts @WHO, @cdc and from local health authorities are displayed.
- Report suspicious posts for human review for verification.
- Blocking and restricting hashtags that are used to spread erroneous information.
- Ban on advertising that takes advantage of the situation.
- Increased visibility of relevant and official accounts on the subject.
This last point is important: with a view to making the accounts that really matter more accessible, Instagram is suggesting that users visit reliable content to be truly informed about what is happening. This also creates critical awareness among people so that they do not trust anything. A few days ago, the video of an influencer who recommended drinking hot water to fight COVID-19 went viral. Other instagramers also replicated the advice, despite the fact that this measure is completely false , so that the message spread through networks and was seen by thousands and thousands of people (including many young people).
Obviously, it will continue to be very difficult for these types of videos to be uploaded, but at least now we will have more tools in social networks to detect them, report them and, above all, not to believe them at face value . Good for Instagram.