philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

On Friday, Instagram sent a note to its AR community telling people to avoid spreading bad information about the pandemic. “We’ve removed previously published effects and are rejecting all new effects, which claim to predict, diagnose, treat or cure coronavirus,” Instagram said through its Spark AR program, which is a community of graphic designers who build augmented reality features for the app. Facebook owns Instagram.

Instagram also said that it would no longer allow people to search for coronavirus-related AR effects. There could still be filters related to the virus, they just won’t be easy to discover. Those that provide bad information won’t be approved.

Instagram said it would allow reputable health organizations to create AR filters, however.

Meanwhile, on Snapchat, there also have been coronavirus-related filters. The company does not allow misinformation in Lenses, either, a Snapchat spokesman said. Lenses are Snapchat's name for AR filters.

This appears to be the first time AR has been cited as a target of fake news.

See the full story here: https://adage.com/article/digital/instagram-warns-coronavirus-disinformation-infecting-augmented-reality/2244591