Are you sick of calling out uncles on WhatsApp who relentlessly forward ‘medical advice’ about how to combat coronavirus–from chatting ‘go corona’ to drinking gaumutra? Yesterday, a group of men in Karnataka bathed in a pool of cow dung because they genuinely believe it would fight ‘corona bacteria’. Yes, we wish we were joking about this.
The World Health Organisation (WHO), which is probably as alarmed as we are when it comes to the spread of such disastrous misinformation, has decided to end the fake news fiasco once and for all.
On March 20, the WHO launched a messaging service in partnership with WhatsApp and Facebook to keep people safe from coronavirus.
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This is a much welcome move because this service has the potential to reach two billion people who regularly use social networking apps.
“From government leaders to health workers and family and friends, this messaging service will provide the latest news and information on coronavirus including details on symptoms and how people can protect themselves and others,” said the WHO in an official statement.
“It also provides the latest situation reports and numbers in real-time to help government decision-makers protect the health of their populations,” the statement further said.
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So how can you use this genius service? You can access it through a link that opens a conversation on WhatsApp. Users can simply type “hi” to activate the conversation, prompting a menu of options that can help answer their questions about Covid-19.
So guys what are you waiting for? Try the link right now and also send it to your fake news-mongering uncles.
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