SOCIAL MEDIA | Twitter’s Covid-19 ‘Event Page’ now accessible
Social media platform Twitter recently launched an “event page” feature to offer real-time, credible and official information about the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
Social media platform Twitter recently launched an “event page” feature to offer real-time, credible and official information about the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) from authoritative government agencies, public officials, civil society and media.
Located at the top of the home timeline of the mobile version and under the #Explore tab on the desktop version, the Covid-19 event page is now available in the Philippines and other Asia-Pacific countries.
“With a critical mass of expert organizations, official government accounts, health professionals and epidemiologists on Twitter, our goal is to elevate and amplify authoritative health information as far as possible,” Twitter said.
“The power of a uniquely open service during a public health emergency is clear. The speed and borderless nature of Twitter presents an extraordinary opportunity to get the word out and ensure people have access to the latest information from expert sources around the world,” it added.
Launched six days before the official designation of the virus in January, Twitter’s dedicated search prompt ensures credible and authoritative content on Covid-19 would be at the top of one’s search.
Twitter is consistently monitoring the conversation to make sure keywords — including common misspellings — also generate the search prompt.
In the Philippines, Twitter has partnered with the Department of Health (@DOHgovph) and the World Health Organization Philippines (@WHOPhilippines) for a dedicated search prompt, wherein users searching information about the #coronavirus on the platform will be notified and pointed to DoH’s website and WHO Philippines’ Twitter account.
Based on Twitter’s Inappropriate Content Policy, any attempt by advertisers to
opportunistically use the Covid-19 pandemic to target inappropriate ads will be halted.
Government entities that want to disseminate public health information will be permitted to
promote ads on Covid-19. In the case of Covid-19, Twitter have put additional safeguards in place in order to facilitate the sharing of trusted public health information and to reduce potential harm to users. It is currently prohibiting the promotion of all medical masks due to strong correlation to Covid-19 and instances of inflated prices globally.
As a uniquely open service, Twitter data is being used in research every day and the researchers’ hub is publicly available. The platform also welcomes applications for the use of Twitter data to support research on Covid-19. Twitter will also explore further #DataForGood partnerships to assess how our data products can enhance academic and nongovernment organizations understanding of public health emergencies now and into the future.
Twitter is committed to playing its part and will continue to provide substantive updates as this situation evolves. For more information, follow Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) and Twitter Public Policy (@Policy).