Facebook has had to cancel two events due to concerns over the spread of the coronavirus. These events, its annual developer’s conference F8 and its global marketing summit, were to draw more than 10,000 attendees.
Other major tech companies have also made alterations to their annual events. Thus, companies in Silicon Valley are giving cash to the communities that would have hosted their events if not for coronavirus.
Over 100,000 people and counting have contracted the deadly disease worldwide.
To make up for the effect of the cancelation of the F8 conference in San Jose, Facebook is doubling its annual $500,000 donation this year to the community.
The company also adds that it will still provide “F8-inspired experiences for those students in lieu of hosting them at the event itself.” This is because the conference usually hosts local students.
Facebook’s vice president of Platform Partnerships, Konstantinos Papamiltiadis wrote in a blog post:
“Working with the next generation of developers is one of the highlights of what we do. We remain committed to the city of San Jose, where we’ve hosted F8 and its community.”
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After canceling its developer’s conference in San Francisco, Facebook also says it is donating $20,000 to the Chinese Newcomers Service Center (CNSC). The CNSC is a local San Francisco-based nonprofit, that supports businesses in its Chinatown.
The company is also donating another $5,000 in non-expiring Facebook ad credits to interested people in the community, according to a Facebook spokesperson.
Facebook and Google are donating to the World Health Organisation (WHO) to stem misinformation. Facebook will provide free advertisement for the WHO.
Meanwhile, Google on its part is donating $25million in ads to both WHO and other government agencies. It also vowed to make more ad credits available as it is needed.
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