Flatiron Foundation: Fighting COVID-19 Misinformation with AARP and Facebook

In March 2020, COVID-19 was spreading throughout the United States and so was disinformation, with many believing the pandemic to be a hoax.

The 50+ demographic were uniquely vulnerable to both the virus and the disinformation, and the disinformation threatened to further increase their exposure to the virus. We knew we had to do what we could to help educate & protect this vulnerable population at the beginning of the pandemic.

APPROACH:

1. Flatiron Foundation worked with AARP on a large scale Facebook ad campaign intended to educate the 50+ demographic on COVID-19
2. Flatiron Foundation collaborated with AARP to execute the multi-faceted campaign, targeting the most vulnerable 50+ populations with content designed to help keep them informed and provide support during the pandemic
3. To provide additional support, Flatiron Foundation developed a custom COVID-19 chatbot for AARP, which allowed AARP to provide the 50+ demographic with the latest information on key coronavirus topics and easily access a human operator

THE RESULTS:

The campaign drove an extraordinary amount of impact during the pandemic, providing critical information from a trusted institution to the most vulnerable population.

● 35.7 Million Americans Reached
● 410 Million impressions
● 81 Million total engagements
● 8.7 Million clicks
● 31 Million ThruPlays
● 322k post shares

Flatiron Foundation is the charitable arm of Flatiron, a leading growth accelerator, and incubator for technology companies. Our mission is to use technology for good, delivering measurable results for big problems.