Facebook says it is rolling out a COVID-19 information center placed atop all users' feeds to help surface news and resources
The portal aims to be a one-stop shop for its more than 2.5 billion users to find news and resources about the pandemic. — Facebook on Wednesday announced …
Washington PostElizabeth Dwoskin
Context & Ripple Effects
Facebook has run crisis information products before — the Crisis Response center with Safety Check and Community Help dates to 2017 — but this move is different in scale and placement: rather than a page users opt into, a COVID-19 hub is being pinned above the News Feed itself for all of its more than 2.5 billion users.
It also lands mid-arc on misinformation: weeks later Facebook began [[a:952651|notifying users who had interacted with coronavirus misinformation and steering them to WHO resources]], and the information-center model kept expanding through an emotional health resource center and eventually vaccination-slot finder tools in 2021.
First-order effects
Facebook's entire user base gets a curated pandemic news and resources module occupying prime feed real estate, making the company an active distributor of health information rather than a neutral pipe.
Health authorities and outlets featured in the center gain direct reach to billions of users without competing algorithmically for attention.
Second-order effects
Rival platforms face pressure to match the top-of-feed treatment for official COVID-19 guidance, since Facebook has set the expectation that social networks surface authoritative sources during a crisis.
The same slot that elevates WHO-backed content sharpens scrutiny of everything else in the feed, forcing Facebook's moderation systems to keep pace with what it promotes.
Third-order effects
If the pattern holds, top-of-feed curation becomes a standing instrument of platform public-health policy — from crisis response to misinfo notifications to vaccine logistics — with regulators and health bodies increasingly treating Facebook as distribution infrastructure rather than just a publisher of user content.
The trend: Social platforms are evolving from passive feeds into state-partnered emergency information channels, with the top of the feed as the lever.
@washingtonpost I applaud their efforts. Mistakes will be made. Some will be upset about freedom to express lies; too bad. Life is different in the time of an epidemic. Live with it.
@alexeheath
Alex Heath on x
Facebook is putting a “coronavirus information center” at the top of peoples' News Feed in the U.S. and elsewhere in the days to come, CEO Mark Zuckerberg says on press call just now. Data will be from organizations like the WHO.
@mikeisaac
Rat King on x
Zuckerberg cites a number of hoaxes circulating facebook clearly against rules: “We're seeing hoaxes to encourage people who are sick to not get treated — one going around that says “if you thnk you have this, drink bleach”
@mikeisaac
Rat King on x
draws a line between that content (which FB does not allow) vs the dynamic of “trying to be referree around political speech” between warring politicians
@sarahfrier
Sarah Frier on x
The company announces it's going to put a Coronavirus Information Center at the top of Facebook feeds, with good info from the WHO and other orgs, and coordinating w/ celebrities and academics to spread the message of social distancing
@mikeisaac
Rat King on x
New thing — Facebook is gonna start sticking a bunch of stuff at the top of your news feeds to encourage the right behavior in time of virus Social Distancing emphasis seems to be the top issue. (Just take a look at FB and the pics of crowds circulating and you'll know why)
@sarahfrier
Sarah Frier on x
Mark Zuckerberg sounds very solemn. He's speaking slowly.
@lflopezcalva
Luis Felipe Lpez-Calva on x
Important news in critical times. @UNDP is teaming up w/ @Whatsapp, @Poynter, @WHO & @UNICEF on a #Coronavirus Info Hub. It will offer #factchecking & services for healthcare pros, local govts, & business v @TechCrunch: https://techcrunch.com/... #COVID19
@wcathcart
Will Cathcart on x
We've nearly doubled server capacity for @WhatsApp, and continue to see strong reliability as people place more voice & video calls around the world. We'll continue to do all we can to keep WhatsApp up, reliable, and fast as people stay socially distant while remaining connected
@baybarsorsek
@baybarsorsek on x
We are excited to announce that @factchecknet and @WhatsApp will work closely to combat misinformation on COVID-19 and health-related misinformation and support the fact-checking community and the #CoronaVirusFacts alliance https://www.poynter.org/...
@poynter
@poynter on x
Today, WhatsApp announced a $1 million grant to @factchecknet to expand the battle against COVID-19 related misinformation https://www.poynter.org/...
@thedeshbhakt
Akash Banerjee on x
Fabulous bit of news...even if it's a small beginning.... but right now #MisinformationVirusOutbreak is as dangerous as #CoronavirusOutbreak Good to see that platforms like WhatsApp are realising the downside their powerful platforms can cause. https://twitter.com/...
@undp
UN Development on x
#BreakingNews. We're teaming up w/ @Whatsapp, @Poynter, @WHO, & @UNICEF on a #Coronavirus Info Hub to spread the word, not the virus. It'll offer #factchecking & services for healthcare pros, educators, nonprofits, local govts, & biz. See in @TechCrunch👇 https://techcrunch.com/..…