MANILA – Facebook on Monday urged Filipinos to share only verified information on COVID-19, as it warned against fake news on the platform.
The Philippines is under a state of public health emergency and Luzon, home to half its 100 million population is on lockdown, forcing people to stay at home, driving social media use.
A social media user has the responsibility to “reduce the spread of misinformation by ensuring we only share information that we’ve verifies to be true,” Facebook Philippines said in a statement.
Here are a few simple steps to check the veracity of COVID-19 information on Facebook feed:
Inspect the post
False news items tend to have sensational and “attention grabbing” headlines, Facebook said. It sometimes uses excessive exclamation points and overly dramatic headlines with shocking claims, it said.
Take note of URLs
Some dubious sites imitate legitimate ones by replacing “0” with “o,” the social media platform said. To verify, users can open another window and proceed directly to the real website of the source to see if the post is using an altered URL.
Investigate the site
Social media users can also verify information by checking the author’s name, Facebook said. Is the person a credible news source? Facebook also offers an “About” section for organizations to help users learn more about pages.
Spot inconsistencies
Weird formatting, inconsistencies in the date and timeline of the story, awkward layout and misspellings are considered red flags and are often observed in fake news sites since they do not pay attention to details, Facebook said.
Be skeptical of photos and videos that obviously looked altered, it said.
Take note of experts
Resource persons with undisclosed names and were written as “a top expert” could be an indication of a false news story, the platform said.
Compare with other stories
Do a quick sweep of other news sources and check data points with credible sources such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Department of Health (DOH). The story is more likely to be accurate of multiple credible sources are reporting it, Facebook said.
Get the latest from health authorities
To get legitimate and accurate information, users are advised to visit the following official pages:
1. DOH
2. DOH’s official
Facebook page
3. WHO
4. WHO
Philippines
Now, one should be extra careful in acquiring news/data, especially online.(ABS-CBN News/PN)
