The Department of Health on Wednesday launched a campaign in partnership with Facebook, Google, TikTok, and Twitter to fight online misinformation about COVID-19 and the vaccine.
Social media has become a major source of information for Filipinos stuck at home due to quarantines. Through the #ChecktheFAQs campaign, DOH hopes to provide trustworthy and reliable information on the virus and the jabs, all the while building public confidence in inoculation.
The four social media giants committed their support for the campaign as part of their efforts to champion media literacy online and build awareness for the initiative.
As vaccines rollout globally, representative from the different social media platforms expressed their support for the DOH's battle against misinformation.
"Whenever you see or hear new information, we encourage everyone to #ChecktheFAQs. With the campaign and by promoting this single message on social media platforms, we hope to urge every Filipino to always verify any information regarding the vaccines they may come across," said Beverly Lorraine Ho, Director of the Disease Prevention and Control Bureau and the Health Promotion Bureau, DOH.
Facebook is home to resources from health authorities, with two billion people using the platform to get the information they need. However, the site still has to sift through the wrong data.
"We are also taking action against accounts that break our COVID-19 and vaccine rules—including reducing their distribution or removing them from our platform. While misinformation is complex and always evolving, we continue using research, teams, and technologies to tackle it in the most comprehensive and effective way possible," said Clare Amador, Head of Public Policy, Facebook Philippines.
YouTube, meanwhile, houses credible information panels that have been viewed 400 billion times. Parent company Google has removed more than 700,000 videos containing false COVID-19 information.
"It is an honor to partner with the Department of Health to support the #ChecktheFAQs campaign and help ensure that Filipinos have timely and accurate information which is important to keep people safe and build public trust in vaccines," said Bernadette Nacario, Country Directorfor Google Philippines.
TikTok, which skyrocketed in popularity during the pandemic, has tapped fact-checkers to spot misinformation on Gen Z's favorite app, said Kristoffer Rada, TikTok Philippines Head for Public Policy.
"If we have learned anything from this pandemic, it is that accurate information can help save lives. Let us protect each other," he said.
Monrawee Ampolpittayanant, Head of Public Policy, Government and Philanthropy of Southeast Asia at Twitter said the micro-blogging platform recently applied labels to tweets that may contain misinformation.
"We believe that giving access to factual information is integral in building public confidence on vaccines, as well as keeping the integrity of public conversations around health," she said
For more information, visit doh.gov.ph and always #ChecktheFAQs regarding COVID-19 and vaccine information.
