The World Health Organization (WHO) has joined TikTok to stop the spread of coronavirus misinformation.
The agency began posting videos to the social network on Friday—the same day WHO elevated its COVID-19 threat assessment to the highest level.
Identified in late December, the disease was initially linked to a wholesale animal and fish market in Wuhan, the largest city in central China.
Most cases can still be traced to known contacts, and, according to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, there is not any “evidence as yet that the virus is spreading freely in communities.”
But it’s better to be safe than sorry.
So, for its first TikTok, WHO’s technical lead of infection prevention and control demonstrates how to protect yourself from coronavirus.
In the video, Benedetta Allegranzi points people toward the WHO website and provides “reliable and timely public health advice” (i.e. common sense):
- Frequently clean your hands with soap and water or an alcohol-based rub
- When coughing and sneezing (for the love of God), please cover your mouth and nose with the inside of your flexed elbow or a tissue
- Avoid close contact with anyone who has a fever and a cough
- If you develop a fever, cough, and difficulty breathing, seek medical attention immediately
A second video features Dr. April Baller of the WHO Health Emergencies Program describing when and how face masks should be worn to protect against COVID-19.
“For TikTok users who explore hashtags related to the coronavirus, we also provide easy access from the app to the WHO website and other trusted resources,” a company spokesperson told Gizmodo.
An in-app notice also reminds folks to report content that violates TikTok’s community guidelines, “which includes misinformation that could cause harm to our community or the larger public.”
To date, coronavirus has claimed more than 3,000 lives worldwide.
“This is a reality check for every government on the planet: Wake up. Get ready,” Mike Ryan, head of WHO’s health emergencies program, said in a Friday press conference. “This virus may be on its way and you need to be ready. You have a duty to your citizens, you have a duty to the world to be ready.”
As Gizmodo pointed out, WHO isn’t the first major global organization using TikTok to set the record straight about this deadly outbreak: Unicef and the Red Cross are also tackling rumors, myths, and memes about coronavirus.
Facebook, which has cancelled F8 2020 over medical concerns—last week began cracking down on misleading ads about COVID-19.
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