Facebook adds context to alert on COVID-19 articles

Facebook will now show users the source and date of COVID-19 related articles in a notification alert pop-up when they are about to share it.

Earlier in June this year, Facebook had introduced an alert notification to be displayed when a user was about to share an old article. The move was a response to content related to COVID-19 as well as politics, with an intent to help the users understand the context of the article they are about to share.

Now, Facebook is adding another layer to the feature. They will be displaying the link's source and date when the user tries to share the piece, instead of just the age of the article (as was the case with the earlier update).

Also Read: Facebook Chat Plugin now enables more consumers to reach businesses

The notification screen will be rolled out globally and Facebook hopes for the move to help users understand the recency and source of the content before they share it. The feature will also direct people to the COVID-19 Information Centre.

Content posted by government health authorities and recognized global health organisations such as the World Health Organization will not have this notification as Facebook doesn't want to slow the spread of authentic information of the platform, they say.