How Facebook, Google, Microsoft, other tech giants plan to fight corona misinformation, frauds

Top tech giants Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Reddit, Twitter and YouTube have come together to help fight the fake news and misinformation related to COVID-19 on their platforms. In a joint statement, the companies said they are working closely together on COVID-19 response efforts.

"We`re helping millions of people stay connected while also jointly combating fraud and misinformation about the virus, elevating authoritative content on our platforms, and sharing critical updates in coordination with government healthcare agencies around the world," they emphasized.

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"We invite other companies to join us as we work to keep our communities healthy and safe," the tech firms said on Monday.

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg went a step forward, saying if need be, the social networking platform would remove misinformation from politicians, celebrities and even from private groups. The number of cases worldwide have surpassed 150,000, with over 6,000 deaths. Several European nations have enacted country-wide lockdowns, including France, Spain, Denmark, Netherlands and Ireland.

The US death toll climbed to at least 81, with 25 of those deaths being reported from Kirkland, Washington. Facebook and Instagram have already announced to ban ads and commerce listings selling medical face masks on their platforms to stop people from exploiting the coronavirus emergency.

Facebook said that coronavirus-related searches on its platform would be greeted with an automatic pop-up featuring information from the WHO. According to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook is focused on stopping hoaxes and harmful misinformation. However, cybercriminals are luring verified Facebook and Instagram users in disguise of spreading awareness about novel coronavirus (COVID-19), offering them $1,500 per week via a global email fraud.

The emails came from `health organisations`, offering money to advertise their awareness content on coronavirus on their verified handles on social media platforms like Facebook.