This archive report was first published on 2 July 2020.
As COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the United States, social media giants Facebook and Twitter are taking steps to promote mask-wearing.
Facebook has announced that it will include alerts at the top of feeds on Facebook and Instagram, starting in the US, to remind users to wear face coverings. The alerts will also provide additional prevention tips and links to public health agencies in its COVID-19 Information Center.
Twitter, meanwhile, has joined in the call for masks with a tongue-in-cheek message that referenced a longstanding demand from users for a tweet edit button. The tweet, which was shared over 93,000 times within an hour, read: "You can have an edit button when everyone wears a mask."
The moves come amid a rift in some parts of the US on the need to wear masks, with some Americans rejecting face coverings as government intrusion. President Donald Trump, who has yet to be seen in public wearing a face mask during the crisis, said this week that he would have "no problem" doing so under certain circumstances.
Heath experts expressed alarm last month when Trump held a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, without requiring attendees to wear masks. Eight members of his campaign staff working at that event tested positive for the virus.
