In a joint statement, major social media companies in the US have assured its users they’ll be working together to battle the spread of misinformation across their platforms.

The joint statement comes as a result of misinformation running rampant in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Companies such as Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Reddit, and YouTube have each shared their joint statement on Twitter:

The technology industry is working closely together in coordination with government healthcare agencies around the world on COVID-19 response efforts. Read our full statement. pic.twitter.com/Xn0fhyJLXm

— Google Public Policy (@googlepubpolicy) March 17, 2020

That’s nice and all, but it isn’t made clear what exactly their joint cooperation will do. Though, if one were to assume, it’d just be introducing new measures to avoid the spread of misinformation relating to COVID-19, one that all platforms would make use of.

LinkedIn did not share the joint statement on Twitter as the other companies have, but they do have a dedicated page that outlines what its users should do, in regards to sharing news about it and how to perform certain work-related activities virtually as the pandemic continues to escalate.

Facebook’s subsidiary, Instagram, also shared they added information cards that will redirect to sources like WHO or local health authorities. The information will appear for countries that have seen a significant impact from the coronavirus.

While this joint effort is certainly welcome, at the end of the day, it’s also the responsibility of us, users, to ensure that such misinformation does not spread, especially for something as sensitive as COVID-19.

For one, don’t simply share the information you receive from social media, especially if there aren’t any links or credible sources provided with it. Double-check its source first either by asking the sender where they got it from or verify it yourself with a quick Google search.

We all can do our part in preventing the spread of misinformation. We don’t necessarily need tech companies to do everything for us.