Among the Coronavirus news which has no doubt affected us all, we’re still forging ahead with the #FridaySocial – a weekly round-up of the key social media news stories from the previous seven days.
Instagram Bans COVID-19 Filters
Instagram has been taking steps to try and control content related to COVID-19 by banning searches for AR effects related to the virus.
Instagram Is Banning Searches For COVID-19 AR Effects https://t.co/TUWHOCl2XK via @WeRSM #coronavirus
— Gɘoff D. ? (@Geoffdx) March 17, 2020
The app has also attempted to remove ‘harmful misinformation’ and where possible redirects users to reliable resources such as the World Health Organization and the CDC.
We will no longer allow people to search for COVID-19 related AR effects on Instagram, unless they were developed in partnership with a recognized health organization. This is part of our ongoing effort to better connect people with credible health information.
— Instagram Comms (@InstagramComms) March 13, 2020
Facebook Spam Filter Issues
Facebook was having issues earlier this week when its news feed spam filter seemingly removed legitimate posts, including posts about Coronavirus.
We're on this – this is a bug in an anti-spam system, unrelated to any changes in our content moderator workforce. We're in the process of fixing and bringing all these posts back. More soon.
— Guy Rosen (@guyro) March 17, 2020
The company said the issue wasn’t specifically related to COVID-19, and attributed the removals to an automated system. All of the affected posts have since been restored.
We’ve restored all the posts that were incorrectly removed, which included posts on all topics – not just those related to COVID-19. This was an issue with an automated system that removes links to abusive websites, but incorrectly removed a lot of other posts too.
— Guy Rosen (@guyro) March 18, 2020
This week in TikTok
Yesterday it was announced that TikTok will donate $3m to After-School All-Stars – a charity founded by Arnold Schwarzenegger – to help provide food for families affected by school closures due to Coronavirus in the USA.
A statement said families in 60 cities would receive food vouchers and gift cards which can be spent on food and other essentials at local grocery stores.
Bravo, TikTok.
we've teamed up with @Schwarzenegger & @ASASafterschool
to help provide food and supplies to families impacted of COVID-19 pic.twitter.com/3zzMQQGOq3— TikTok US (@tiktok_us) March 19, 2020
