Partnering with a global platform to inform research and public policy making

Abstract

This paper describes a partnership between Facebook and academic institutions to create a global COVID-19 symptom survey. The survey is available in 56 languages. A representative sample of Facebook users is invited on a daily basis to report on symptoms, social distancing behavior, mental health issues, and financial constraints. Facebook provides weights to reduce nonresponse and coverage bias. Privacy protection and disclosure avoidance mechanisms are implemented by both partners to meet global policy and industry requirements. Country and region-level statistics are published daily via dashboards, and microdata are available for researchers via data use agreements. Over 1 million responses are collected weekly.