Facebook Adds Ebola Charity Donation Option to News Feeds

Facebook wants to get you involved in the fight against Ebola.

Over the next week, you'll see a message at the top of your Facebook news feed with an option to donate to three different nonprofits working to stop the spread of Ebola in West Africa, the social network announced Thursday. The tool lets you give money directly to the International Medical Corps, the Red Cross, or Save the Children, and then share on Facebook that you donated. All of the money raised will go directly to these charities working on the ground.

"Organizations involved in the fight against Ebola are using Facebook to raise funds for their relief efforts," Facebook said in a news release. "We want to amplify these calls for action and help organizations raise awareness and connect directly with people around the world."

Facebook is also getting involved in other ways. The company is partnering with UNICEF to deliver information about Ebola symptoms and treatment to people in affected and neighboring regions. The UNICEF messages will appear in news feeds.

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Finally, Facebook is also donating 100 mobile satellite terminals, which will provide medical and aid workers in remote areas of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone with voice and data services.

"Communication and access to information is crucial to people fighting Ebola on the ground, but many of the areas most affected lack the infrastructure, like landline and cellular coverage, to support them," Facebook said.

The new initiatives come after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chan last month donated $25 million to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to fight against the deadly disease. Bill Gates has also made a $50 million donation to fight Ebola, while his Microsoft co-founder, Paul Allen, set up tackleebola.com and committed to a $100 million donation.

IBM also teamed up with various organizations in a bid to fight the disease with the assistance of supercomputers.

To date, there have been more the 13,000 cases of Ebola around the world, primarily in West Africa.

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade.

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes.

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app.

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth.

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light.

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

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