BBC global news has offered free ad slots to  help international and governmental organisations share important guidance on the coronavirus. The global news channel is offering up a fifth of its TV and online advertising inventory to be filled with public health messaging. The BBC has found that it has a genuine role to play in curbing the spread of misinformation.

BBC World News and BBC.com are currently receiving a record amount of visitors, with 60 million people arriving at the BBC’s online news service (up 50% on the average). Of that record amount, more than 80% (49 million) were there to learn more about the coronavirus.

“Our job is to report on the developing crisis around the world in a period when people need news they can genuinely trust. But if we can support public health agencies in doing their job in these unprecedented times I feel we have a responsibility to help,” explained Jim Egan, chief executive of BBC Global News.

Therefore, it is giving the opportunity for major multilateral organisations and national health ministries to broadcast correct guidance on its TV and online platform. Through this endeavour, it will replace 20% of its advertising inventory.

Beyond this, to help combat the spread of misinformation, BBC Global News is to provide more coronavirus-related content, which has been commissioned in response to the growing audience demand around the world.  Victoria Derbyshire is set to host a new regular half-hour programme – Coronavirus: What You Need to Know. It will explain what the coronavirus is, how you can catch it and how to protect yourself.

Joining this, BBC Global News has commissioned Coronavirus Explained – a short daily update that will be broadcast on the channel across the day alongside the dedicated Coronavirus index on BBC.com and the daily Coronavirus Global Podcast.