Advertising on Facebook during COVID-19 outbreak

Publication date: 20 March 2020

In response to the coronavirus outbreak, Facebook has decided to send home all contract workers who perform content review. Now with a reduced and remote workforce, Facebook is relying on automated technology even more.

What does it mean for advertising on Facebook?

• delayed review for ads and commerce listings;
• an increase in ads being incorrectly disapproved;
• delayed or reduced appeals;
• limited availability of Facebook in-stream ads and lower delivery.

For the time being, advertisers are recommended to extend the delivery of existing ads rather than create new ads.
Content creators and publishers can expect some disruption to monetization for Instant Articles content and videos with in-stream ads.

• Learn about how gambling and betting will get through the coronavirus pandemic

To prevent coronavirus-related exploitation, Facebook has announced a ban on ads and commerce listings for several products. In addition to masks, advertising of hand sanitizer, surface disinfecting wipes, and COVID-19 testing kits is also prohibited.
Moreover, if Facebook detects abuse around these products in organic posts, that content will be removed too.

Facebook’s desktop redesign

Facebook has officially rolled out its desktop redesign. Users can activate the new interface in the Settings menu.

What does the new design feature?

• The new layout gives centre stage to the News Feed and employs a cleaner design with generous amounts of white space and a focus on each particular element. The desktop version now looks very similar to the mobile app.
• Almost nothing has changed in terms of usability. The redesign is aimed mainly at smoothing navigation between elements, with a special focus on Groups.
• The new design brings dark mode, which can be toggled on and off through a switch in the Settings menu.