In a bid to fight misinformation and fake news that is spreading faster than wild fire, Facebook is expanding its Coronavirus Information Center to 24 more countries in Africa. This takes the total number to 43, as part of the ongoing commitment to empowering people around the world with timely and accurate news from trusted health authorities.
The Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information Center is featured at the top of News Feed and provides a central place for people to keep informed about the Coronavirus. It includes real-time updates from national official sources, regional and global organizations such as the Africa Center for Disease Control and the World Health Organization as well as helpful resources – articles, videos and posts – and tips about social distancing and preventing the spread of COVID-19.
Facebook users can opt-in to the Center to get notifications and see updates in their News Feed from official government, regional or global health authorities.
Facebook’s Director of Public Policy, Africa, Kojo Boakye, says Facebook is supporting the public health community’s work across the world to keep all communities informed during the coronavirus pandemic.
“We are happy to provide nearly every country in Sub-Saharan Africa with its own Information Center so people across the continent have a central place to find authoritative information around COVID-19.”
Countries where the Coronavirus Information Center is
The new countries where Facebook is launching the Coronavirus Information Center are:
- Botswana
- Burundi
- Central African Republic
- Comoros
- Congo
- Djibouti
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Eswatini
- Gambia
- Guinea-Bissau
- Lesotho
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Rwanda
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Sierra Leone
- South Sudan
- Tanzania
- Uganda
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
The Coronavirus Information Center is already in place in the following sub-Sahara African countries:
- Benin
- Burkina Faso
- Cameroon
- Cape Verde
- Chad
- Côte d’Ivoire
- Ethiopia
- Gabon
- Guinea
- Kenya
- Mali
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Nigeria
- Senegal
- Seychelles
- South Africa
- The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
- Togo
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