[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] Facebook has placed a COVID-19 Information Center at the top of the news feed to quickly and promptly deliver related information to users.
According to CNBC and others, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced this policy during a conference call with reporters on the 18th (local time). The COVID-19 Information Center is scheduled to launch within 24 hours in major countries such as the United States and Europe.
This is to prevent the spread of fake news online and to quickly deliver accurate information.
CEO Zuckerberg explained, "In disaster situations, people tend to rely more on social services like Facebook," adding, "The goal is to share authoritative information from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), and other health experts, and deliver it to users." He added, "It is a broad consensus to encourage people to take social distancing seriously."
Additionally, Facebook has decided to provide its enterprise communication software, Workplace, free of charge for the next 12 months to governments and emergency response agencies.
Currently working from home, CEO Zuckerberg confirmed that usage across services has surged due to the impact of COVID-19. He explained, "Voice calls on WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger have more than doubled compared to usual," adding, "As COVID-19 spreads to more regions, we are working to ensure that our infrastructure can support this increase in usage."
Earlier, Facebook also announced a support program worth a total of $100 million (approximately 124.2 billion KRW) to help small businesses hit hard by COVID-19. The support funds will be provided to up to 30,000 eligible small businesses in more than 30 countries. Additionally, it announced that it will pay a $1,000 bonus per full-time employee to 45,000 employees.
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