A new alert on Facebook and Instagram tells people to wear masks in public to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus

• A new alert on Facebook and Instagram advises users in the US to wear face masks in public.
• The announcement of the new notice comes as coronavirus cases rise in the US and some states implement regulations requiring face masks in public.
• While Facebook strives to combat coronavirus misinformation the company refuses to budge on its controversial hate-speech policy, which has led over 500 advertisers to halt their ads on the platform.

More and more states are creating regulations that require people to wear face masks in public and now Facebook is also joining the public conversation by encouraging users to wear face masks in public, the company announced Thursday.

Facebook and Instagram plan to roll out the new face mask alert in the US on Thursday along with links to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's website. From there, the company will continue to expand the alert to other countries, Facebook told Business Insider.

The social media platform's decision comes as COVID-19 cases rise in many states. The US faces the largest outbreak in the world with 2.68 million COVID-19 cases, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

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Facebook's alert telling users to wear face mask is the latest step the platform is taking to try and provide accurate information about the pandemic.

While Facebook set out an extensive plan to ensure the public's health and safety regarding the coronavirus by trying to prevent the spread of misinformation and connect people with substantiated resources, Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg are embroiled in other highly contentious issues related to their current policies.

Recently, Mark Zuckerberg refused to change the company's hate speech policy even as more than 500 advertisers boycott the company. The move by advertisers was sparked after Zuckerberg also refused to back down after allowing a post by President Donald Trump that Twitter flagged and deemed to be "glorifying violence" during the George Floyd protests.

Zuckerberg's stance on hate speech remains staunch even though Facebook says its coronavirus misinformation is an "extension of our existing policies to remove content that could cause physical harm."