Facebook Extends Information Efforts as States Extend Covid-19 Vaccine Availability

As eligibility for the Covid-19 vaccine is extended to all adults in more U.S. states, Facebook is using the same state-by-state information tactics it deployed in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election to keep people informed. The social network said in a Newsroom post Monday, “Just as we ran state-specific notifications in News Feed about registering to vote and voting by mail ahead of each state’s deadlines, we’re tailoring Covid-19 vaccine notifications to coincide with each state opening their eligibility to all adults so we don’t promote vaccines before everyone is eligible. We are ultimately rolling out these notifications nationally across the U.S. and globally as more countries expand vaccinations.” Facebook is working with state health departments to bring reliable information to people about if and when they are eligible for the vaccine, saying that over 3 million people in the U.S. clicked on its News Feed alerts or its Coronavirus (Covid-19) Information Center to visit their state health websites or local providers. News Feed notifications linking to countries’ ministry of health websites are running in nearly 20 countries, with more to come. They provide information about the vaccines and how to book appointments. In the U.S., people 65 and older have seen News Feed notifications linking to their state websites for information on who is eligible for a vaccine and how to schedule one. With eligibility being extended in many states, more eligible adults in those states will begin seeing the notifications. When a state declares that the general public is vaccine-eligible, the social network will show notifications to all people in that state, connecting them with their state health department or its VaccineFinder tool. This is already happening in states including Alaska, Mississippi, Texas and Utah. Users with their Facebook language set to Spanish will see these notifications in Spanish and be directed to their states’ Spanish-language websites in cases where they are available. Facebook said these News Feed notifications are running in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories, in English, Mandarin, Spanish and Vietnamese. Over the past month, Facebook has given state health departments access to its CrowdTangle tool, which tracks how content spreads online. When health departments flag potential vaccine misinformation on Facebook or Instagram, that content is reviewed and removed if found to be in violations of the social network’s policies. Finally, Facebook extended access to its Local Alerts tool to more municipal governments, state and local emergency response organizations and public health agencies, giving them the ability to quickly share timely, credible information about the Covid-19 vaccine with their local communities. Organizations can request access to Local Alerts here.

Coronavirus

Facebook Extends Information Efforts as States Extend Covid-19 Vaccine Availability

The social network is using the same tactics it deployed in the run-up to the 2020 election

David Cohen

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

David Cohen