30% of Americans believe Coronavirus came from a lab, even though there is no evidence of that being true -- it's a conspiracy theory gone viral.

That's not the only fake news story out there on the virus -- there's a ton of harmful disinformation about remedies and cures that are putting people’s lives at risk. At least one man already died trying to follow an unproven prevention technique!

But there’s one thing that can help keep these fake stories away from our newsfeeds: getting tech giants to allow for easy flagging of false news stories. They already work with independent fact-checkers, and could easily alert people if a post can’t be verified.

These tech giants have all the resources they need to make this happen and stop the deluge of disinformation. But they won’t act unless there’s massive public pressure. 

If we are able to easily flag fake news, less people would see this awful story about anti-malaria pills which is still circulating around. Or the one about drinking vodka. Or the other one about holding your breath for 10 seconds. There are *so many* crazy Coronavirus stories like this that we should be flagging!

Some are saying the platforms have done an impressive job responding to Coronavirus disinformation. And while it’s true that banning ads promoting cures and fake masks is a positive step forward -- it’s not nearly enough.

New reports show that Russia, China, and Iran have launched disinformation campaigns to sew confusion and distrust in our societies. The only way we stand any chance to fight back is to get the tech giants onboard with us. But it will only happen if enough of us demand it.

Facebook already allows for easy reporting for election-related material -- they could easily do it for this global crisis, especially as actual lives are at stake. 

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