Zuckerberg: Coronavirus researchers using Facebook data to understand how virus is spreading
Facebook is 'working closely with global health experts to provide additional help if needed'
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg detailed the ways in which the social media platform is helping to combat the new coronavirus epidemic in a late Tuesday post.
The billionaire tech engineer said Facebook is offering the World Health Organization "as many free ads as they need for their coronavirus response along with other in-kind support," and "millions more in ad credits to other organizations too and we'll be working closely with global health experts to provide additional help if needed."
Such global health experts include researchers in Cambodia who were able to "sequence the full genome of the virus that causes COVID-19 in days, making it much easier and faster for them to identify if people had the virus," through a partnership between the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and the Gates Foundation, Zuckerberg wrote.
The Chan Zuckerberg Foundation in an LLC founded by Zuckerberg and his wife in 2015 that uses technology and science to help prevent and eradicate disease, improve learning experiences for kids and reform the criminal justice system, according to the foundation's website.
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"The Chan Zuckerberg Biohub has also been part of the team working to develop the cell atlas — a periodic table of different cell types in the body. As part of this work, they supported a project to map out all the cells in the lung. Researchers are now using this to investigate potential ways to limit lung damage and address the symptoms of coronavirus," Zuckerberg's post reads.
"Researchers are already using aggregated and anonymized Facebook data -- including mobility data and population density maps -- to better understand how the virus is spreading," Zuckerberg wrote.
The tech giant announced its first steps helping to stop the spread of misinformation surrounding COVID-19 along with the WHO and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in a Jan. 30 blog post. Zuckerberg noted that Facebook is also working with UNICEF in his Tuesday post.
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Facebook is "focused on stopping hoaxes and harmful misinformation. It's important that everyone has a place to share their experiences and talk about the outbreak, but as our community standards make clear, it's not okay to share something that puts people in danger," Zuckerberg wrote.
The tech giant is "removing false claims and conspiracy theories that have been flagged by leading global health organizations" and "blocking people from running ads that try to exploit the situation — for example, claiming that their product can cure the disease," he added.
A nurse prepares medicines for patients at Jinyintan Hospital designated for new coronavirus infected patients, in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province. (Chinatopix via AP)
Other social media sites like Twitter are taking action against misinformation regarding coronavirus.
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"The health and safety of our employees is our top priority," a Twitter spokesperson told FOX Business. "Out of an abundance of caution and in accordance with public health officials' recommendations, we've made the difficult decision to restrict the business travel of employees within the Asia-Pacific region for the next 30 days. As a company, we've also put in place a range of proactive steps to protect the public conversation around this critical, global issue."
Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon and other tech giants that do business globally have also taken employee business-travel precautions.
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