This Wednesday (18) WhatsApp announced two initiatives to support the fight against the coronavirus. The initiatives are the WhatsApp Coronavirus Information Hub, created in partnership with the World Health Organization, UNICEF and UNDP, and a $ 1 million donation to the International Fact-Verification Network (IFCN) of the Poynter Institute.
The first initiative, the Information Hub on Coronavirus from WhatsApp contains simple and useful guidelines for health professionals, educators, community leaders, non-profit organizations, governments and local businesses. The site also offers tips and resources for users to reduce the spread of fake news by making official health information available.
So far, WhatsApp has worked in countries like Singapore, Israel, South Africa, Brazil and Indonesia.
Over the past year, WhatsApp has worked on integrating with fact-checking organizations so that they can report on fake news that may be circulating on various messaging services, including WhatsApp or SMS.
The money will support training to use the advanced features of WhatsApp Business, including the WhatsApp Business API. Expanding the presence of these IFCN-certified fact-checking organizations will help ensure that local communities are aware of and demystify harmful fake news.
“The donation made by WhatsApp will help the checks published by the CoronaVirusFacts Alliance to reach a wider audience and, consequently, help people separate facts from fiction during this avalanche of information that WHO called 'infodemic'.” said Baybars Orsek, Director of IFCN.
Source: Digital Look
