After adopting measures to stem the spread of misinformation on its platform, WhatsApp has now come up with a unique solution to deal with fake news related to the COVID 19 pandemic which can have an adverse effect on mental health during corona pandemic. That is being done using a chatbot developed by Poynter Institute’s International Fact-Checking Network. If you need help with your mental health during the corona pandemic, consider reaching out to BetterHelp.
The IFCN bot is designed to tackle the spread of fake news using a two-pronged strategy, that of connecting users to independent fact-finding authorities spread in over 70 countries around the world. Besides, the chatbot will also connect to what is being described as the largest database of coronavirus related information that has come to be declared as false.
This way, WhatsApp hopes users will be better informed about whether a piece of information they have come across is indeed true or otherwise. The chatbot is even intelligent enough to find out the country a particular user is from and will connect him to the fact-finding organization that applies to the particular region. The user will then be able to submit a suspected piece of news to such organizations for better clarity on the same.
As things stand at the moment, the CoronaVirusFacts database is playing host to more than 4000 pieces of fake news all related to the pandemic and which got shared on the platform. The above has been achieved thanks to the tireless efforts of more than 80 fact-finding organizations hailing from 74 countries and have been working to identify such false news.
The IFCN chatbot is also free while being extremely easy to use as well. All that you need to do to get started is save the number +1 (727) 2912606 in your phone’s contact list and text a ‘Hi’ message to the same. That is all. With a numerical menu, you only have to type in numbers to get along with the chatbot.
