Twitter, Google and Walmart address COVID-19, MSNBC anchor resigns on air, and Recording Academy fires chief

Also: Amazon and Purell scramble amid sanitizer shortage, the growth of influencer marketing, Associated Press Australia closes, and more.

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Good morning, PR pros:

Amid consumers’ growing fears regarding the COVID-19 outbreak, many stores are running out of hand sanitizer, through stores such as H-E-B and U.K. chain Boots are limiting the amount of disinfectant products sold to each person.

The shortage prompted third-party sellers on Amazon to raise prices—leaving Amazon scrambling to mitigate criticism.

The Washington Post reported:

“There is no place for price gouging on Amazon,” Amazon spokeswoman Cecilia Fan told The Post. “We are disappointed that bad actors are attempting to artificially raise prices on basic need products during a global health crisis and, in line with our long-standing policy, have recently blocked or removed tens of thousands of offers. We continue to actively monitor our store and remove offers that violate our policies.”

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