As fake news about the coronavirus tends to spread faster than the legitimate sources can even get one hit. There is now an app that can counter this that is approved by the government to help fight misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic that is plaguing our world right now.
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What About The App
NewsGuard, the name of the tool to fight the spread of disinformation can be downloaded to your desktop or your mobile device. It has a trust rating of over 95% and can get frequent updates on the trending misinformation that is being spread all around the world, so you would know that the stories or news published is false.
The government has endorsed this online tool as well because of the much-needed since it will be difficult for them to fight a two-pronged war with the coronavirus pandemic as well as the spread of misinformation.
The tool works by identifying the sites that may be publishing dangerous lies; the trust rating of 95% comes from 4,000 news services all around the globe.
Why is it Free Now?
Already NewsGuard has identified over 140 publishing websites that are focused on publishing fake news from the COVID-19 pandemic. NewsGuard had also said that libraries across the UK were using its services to help their members navigate through the information before the outbreak became a thing. Since libraries are now closed over the response of the pandemic, the company has far removed all of its firewalls to make its services free for public use which significantly helps people be informed better. As well as make sure that what they are sharing is as accurate as possible and not adding to the lies of fake news regarding the pandemic.
NewsGuard works by a red or green dot next to the news link on search engines and social media feeds; this includes Google, Bing, Facebook, Reddit, and Twitter where most information circulates rapidly.
Oliver Dowden, a Digital secretary, had this to say, "We need people to follow the advice of our medical experts so we can protect the NHS and save lives. But false or misleading information about coronavirus shared online could undermine our efforts.
"This very welcome move by Newsguard will give people a free and effective tool helping them access trustworthy news sources during these challenging times."
Dowden has previously repeated calling for social media users to do their part in deterring the spread of fake news especially when it is coronavirus related because it will only cause more panic and fear than the world needs right now. People should be using their brains rationally and not panic over things that are not true. He recommended as well to adopt advice that is issued by trusted sources like the Centre for Countering Digital Hate or CCDH.
