In order to help people stay connected while being in quarantine to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, Instagram has now introduced media sharing feature that enables users to view Instagram posts together with your friends over video chat. “You can start a video chat by tapping the video chat icon in the Direct inbox or in an existing Direct thread, then view saved, liked and suggested photos/videos by tapping the photo icon in the bottom left corner in an ongoing video chat,” as revealed on an Instagram blog post.
Other than media sharing feature, Instagram has also launched a “Stay Home” sticker. The Facebook-owned photo-sharing app has announced that any accounts you follow who use the sticker will be added to a shared Instagram story. This will enable Instagram users to see how people across the world are practicing social distancing to keep COVID-19 at a bay.
Moreover, Instagram has also been helping its users gain access to accurate information related to the coronavirus or COVID-19 outbreak. Wondering how? Well, Instagram users get an educational message connecting them to resources from the World Health Organization (WHO) and local health ministries.
Besides these features, Instagram has also come up with reminders to wash your hands, distance yourself from others to brace up for the fight against COVID-19 virus. The Facebook-owned app will be making this feature available in the camera in the coming days.
Apart from promoting credible information throughout Instagram app, it is also making several changes to reduce the spread of misinformation. According to the official blog post, Instagram will “remove COVID-19 accounts from account recommendations, and we are working to remove some COVID-19 related content from Explore, unless posted by a credible health organization. We will also start to down rank content in feed and Stories that has been rated false by third-party-fact checkers.”
In addition to this, the posts which are rated false by third-party-fact checkers will be removed from Explore and hashtag pages. Instagram will also remove false claims or conspiracy theories based on COVID-19 that have been flagged by leading global health organizations and local health authorities as having the potential to cause harm to people who believe them.
Instagram has also prohibited misleading ads for products that refer to COVID-19 in ways intended to create urgency, guarantee cures or prevent people from contracting it. It has also temporarily banned advertisements and branded content that promote certain medical supplies which even comprises of face masks.
Do let us know how you are contributing to the society in fighting this COVID-19 pandemic in the comments section below.
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