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Stay informed about Covid-19 coronavirus from credible sources on WhatsApp

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Dubai - The hub provides reliable information about the global pandemic.

By Web Report

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Published: Mon 23 Mar 2020, 11:00 AM

Last updated: Mon 23 Mar 2020, 2:33 PM

WhatsApp has joined the fight against the coronavirus, Covid-19 global pandemic. On March 21 WhatsApp announced a new information hub in partnership with the World Health Organisation (WHO), UNICEF, United Nationals Development Program (UNDP) and the Indian government. The hub provides reliable information about the global pandemic and has resources where people can reach out for more details.

According to Hindustan Times WhatsApp has developed a dedicated page for fact-checkers from different parts of the world. In India, the company has tied up with Alt News, India Today, and Alt News among others. The Facebook-owned company has also donated $1 million to the Poynter Institute's international fact-checking network to help reduce misinformation on the coronavirus, Covid-19.
WHO in partnership with WhatsApp launched "WHO Health Alert" for users. The interactive bot allows users to learn more about the coronavirus and related information such as the latest numbers, myth busters, travel advice, and share among others. The service is currently available in the English language only. The company plans to launch in more languages such as Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, and Spanish.
The Indian government has launched "MyGov Corona Helpdesk." By saving the number 9013151515 on WhatsApp you are able to get started with an automated response on queries. You can begin by dropping the message "Hi." Thereafter select an option to receive the information you're looking for.
The interactive WhatsApp bot has been developed by Mumbai-based firm Haptik, also a subsidiary of Reliance Jio.
Abhijit Bose, Head of WhatsApp (India) stated the following in a recent release "Access to credible sources of information is critical to battling Coronavirus and is our top priority. We appreciate the opportunity to work with the Ministry of Health and MyGov on this initiative. We encourage users across the country to depend on verified sources for any information during this period".


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