By Sharon Atieno

Facebook in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO) is launching a new campaign dubbed ‘Together Against COVID-19 Misinformation’ across Africa.

The campaign conducted in both English and French languages will be rolled out in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Nigeria, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire and DRC.

It will run on Facebook and cover a series of graphics with tips on how to stop false news which includes: Check the source, Check how it makes you feel and Check the context which deals with looking at public health authorities to confirm content.

Aïda Ndiaye, Facebook Public Policy Manager, in a statement commented that ensuring users are getting authoritative information about Covid-19 vaccines is just some of the vital work they are doing.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, we’ll continue working with industry experts and people on our platforms to ensure we’re aggressively tackling misinformation, and giving people additional resources to scrutinize content they see online, helping them decide what to read, trust and share,” Ndiaye said.

As part of the campaign, Facebook will also be launching a dedicated in English and French, which will include information on how they are tackling misinformation on their platforms.

It will give people more transparency around our Remove, Reduce and Inform strategy, outline our community standards, and share the steps we’re taking to combat false news around global events such as Covid-19, elections and climate change, Ndiaye added.

The launch of the African campaign follows the launch of the worldwide campaign which took place last month to promote authoritative information about COVID-19 vaccines.

According to the Facebook website, more than 2 billion people from 189 countries have been connected to reliable information about the coronavirus through their COVID-19 Information Centre.