Pinterest now showing custom search results for coronavirus to combat misinformation

• March 4, 2020

Pinterest is introducing a “custom search experience” when you seek out information about the coronavirus on its platform, as a way to “connect Pinners with facts and myth-bust what’s not true with authoritative information from the [World Health Organization],” the company tells The Verge.

I searched “coronavirus” and “COVID-19” (the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus) on Pinterest and was taken to the following page, which has curated content from the WHO about how to protect yourself and others from getting sick, how to wash your hands, when to use a mask, and more.

Pinterest recommends following the verified WHO Pinterest account to see new information about health or wellness that it pins. The company also tells The Verge that it will be removing any misinformation it finds about coronavirus because it will violate its health misinformation policy.

“We’ve been working with the World Health Organization over the last year to connect Pinners to facts about critical health topics, from the new coronavirus to vaccines,” said a Pinterest spokesperson in a statement. “We want to do our part to make sure people can find authoritative information when it really counts.”

Pinterest’s approach to coronavirus information is similar to how it gives accurate search results about vaccines and their safety.

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Pinterest is introducing a “custom search experience” when you seek out information about the coronavirus on its platform, as a way to “connect Pinners with facts and myth-bust what’s not true with authoritative information from the [World Health Organization],” the company tells The Verge. I searched “coronavirus” and “COVID-19” (the…