Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Tuesday, Aug 04, 2026

Facebook rolls out tools to help you find real-time info in a crisis

Facebook users who request or offer help during a crisis can now message via WhatsApp.

Facebook said Monday that it's giving users more ways to communicate and share real-time information during a disaster or attack.

The world's social network has a hub called Crisis Response that lets users learn about critical events happening around the world, as well as request or offer help during a fire, mass shooting, earthquake or other crisis. You can also check whether your friends or family members have marked themselves as safe during a disaster.

Users requesting or offering help can now message each other through WhatsApp . Before, they had to use Facebook Messenger. Users will also be able to share photos and videos along with real-time information such as road closures and collapsed buildings on crisis response pages.

"We heard loud and clear from people that what they really needed was more information during times of crisis," said Emily Dalton Smith, director of social impact product at Facebook. "What they wanted was to be able to know everything that was relevant so that they can navigate through this tough time."

As Facebook offers users more ways to share and communicate during a crisis, the company will also have be wary about people who could use the tools to spread misinformation, scams and hate speech. In April, an Islamophobic post was the top video on a Facebook crisis response page for bombings in Sri Lanka that killed nearly 300 people. In 2017, following a mass shooting at a country music festival in Las Vegas, a page that was part of the company's crisis response hub showed hoaxes and scams.

Smith said users can report posts. The company also uses technology along with human reviewers to flag content that goes against Facebook's rules. "Safety and security are top of mind for us," she said.

Facebook is also providing data to help emergency responders distribute supplies to those in need and find people who have been displaced from their homes. The company works with more than 100 partners across disaster response and public health.

Laura McGorman, policy lead for data for good at Facebook, said that the company can use aggregate location data of Facebook users to see how many people move from one area to another. Before, first responders had to rely on people at the scene to figure out if those in need were at shelters or hospitals.

"By aggregating information from Facebook mobile users who've opted into location services, you can actually see whether or not evacuation orders have been followed. And that's extremely powerful," she said.

Facebook has also been trying to improve its estimates of how many people have been displaced from their homes, which can be tricky because people can move for various reasons. Now they're accounting for other factors such as commuting and tourism in their displacement maps.

"We want to make sure we're really focusing on people who are truly displaced, and our new maps do that," McGorman said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
AI Is Remaking the US Economy, From GDP Growth to iPhone Prices
FIFA’s Retreat Leaves a Larger Question Over Who Guards the Game
Finland Deploys Commercial-Scale Thermal Batteries Using Crushed Rock to Store Renewable Grid Energy
Valued at $109 Million: F-35B Fighter Jet Crashes in Southern California
US Says It Has Carried Out Heavy Strikes on Iran After Attempted Attacks on Its Forces
Over 24 Hours in the Air: Qantas Airbus Completes Record-Breaking Test Flight
Arrest Warrant Issued in Lebanon for Tycoon Spotted Meeting Netanyahu in Washington
Trump says Israel ‘would not survive’ without US
Nvidia Reportedly Takes Vast Texas Data-Centre Lease to Underwrite AI Expansion
FIFA’s Private-Investment Plan for World Cup Rights Draws European Revolt
Following OpenAI's Cyberattack: 'Most Companies Still Do Not Understand What Is Coming'
OpenAI Sued After ChatGPT Allegedly Discouraged Emergency Care Before Near-Fatal Embolism
Miliband Sets Climate and International Law at Centre of UK Diplomacy
Pentagon Discloses Nearly 100 US Troop Injuries During Renewed Iran Fighting
Trump Readies New Tariffs as Temporary Global Levy Nears Expiry
High Prices Push Coffee Drinkers Toward Whole Beans and Home Brewing
Trump Draws Boos and Podium Scrutiny at Spain’s World Cup Triumph
Spain Defeats Argentina in Extra Time to Win Second World Cup
Turkey Explores S-400 Transfer to UAE in Bid to Rejoin F-35 Program
US Retaliates Against Iran After Two American Troops Killed in Jordan
Proposed U.S.-Saudi Nuclear Pact Could Permit Limited Uranium Enrichment Under International Safeguards
Why Kentucky Fried Chicken Became KFC—and Why the False Explanations Persist
Iran Claims It Destroyed Bahrain’s Main Artificial Intelligence Center in Missile and Drone Strike
Ukrainian Drones Strike Wildberries Warehouses Deep Inside Russia
Reported CIA Mission Helped Clear the UAE’s Path to Advanced US AI Chips
Artificial Intelligence Capital Fuels Markets While Governments and Regulators Face Mounting Strategic Tests
China’s Moonshot’s Kimi K3 Narrows the Gap With Anthropic Through Scale, Openness and Lower Cost
The Ledger Will Not Trust on Faith
Passenger Bound for Germany Refused to Sit Beside a Woman on a Plane — Then Slapped a Flight Attendant
Ukraine’s Leadership Rift Spills Into the Streets as Protesters Target Army Chief
The Ten World Cup Finals That Defined Football History
Smartphones Are Getting More Expensive, Sales Are Collapsing, and Even Apple Admits: "Prices Will Rise"
Leadership Change and Strategic Rivalry Redraw the Political Map
The AI Race Enters Its Infrastructure Era
Britain Nationalises British Steel to Protect Scunthorpe Production and Strategic Supply
Thomas Tuchel Faces Fierce Backlash After Tactical Retreat Costs England World Cup Final Berth
A Quiet Bastille Day: France Grapples with World Cup Heartbreak and Leftover Fireworks
Spain in Ecstasy: "We Feel Unbeatable, We Taught the Whole World a Lesson"
Harvard Astrophysicist to Lead U.S. Scientific Advisory on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena
Emergency Sirens Activated Across Bahrain as Interior Ministry Issues Shelter Directives
World Cup Visitors Turn American Big-Box Stores Into Souvenir Stops
Netflix Weighs Always-On Channels, Bundles and Short-Form Video
The AI Invoice Shock: Layoffs Didn't Save Managers Money — They Cost Them More
Concern: Sexually Transmitted Bacterium Among Men Develops Antibiotic Resistance
Passenger Partially Pulled Out of Ryanair Jet After Cabin Window Fails Mid-Flight
Severe Heatwave Drives Dangerous Ground-Level Ozone Pollution Across Two Thirds of European Union
The Physical and Electronic Barriers Disrupting Domestic Wireless Networks
France and Morocco Open World Cup Quarter-Finals as Collina Defends Refereeing
Tech Pulse: The Future of AI and Screen Culture
Global News Briefing: Escalating Geopolitical Tensions and Corporate Shakeups
×