After first launching a fact checking chatbot for WhatsApp in English and Spanish, the International Fact Checking Network (IFCN) has followed it up with a Hindi version. Its main purpose is to help users verify information shared around the Covid-19 pandemic. The chatbot, which is free for everyone on WhatsApp, helps those who communicate in the Hindi language to check the facts scattered around the coronavirus and the information that is shared freely through the messaging service. Its main goal is to combat misinformation during the current phase of Unlock-1 that India is witnessing.
The #Hindi version of the IFCN chatbot offers fact checks from @newsvishvas, @FactCrescendo, @IndiaToday, @NewscheckerIn, @boomlive_in, @NewsMobileIndia and @TheQuint and will be updated daily. Read about this ? https://t.co/H4MzoUVkZ9 #India #coronavirus #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/uumLN8ZbYd12 June 2020 The app allows users to check if information about the Covid-19 is classified as false by one of the checkers independent fact-finder from the CoronaVirusFacts alliance, an IFCN-coordinated group that was launched in 2015 by the Poynter Institute to support the growing tribe of internet fact-checkers.
How to get started?
Users who want to access the Hindi chatbot need to register +1 (727) 2912606 as a contact on their smartphone and then send the word “नमस्ते” to start the Hindi bot. Another option is to simply click on this link to start the conversation. The bot has a short digital menu that only requires text numbers to navigate. WhatsApp, owned by Facebook, has more than 400 million users in India, more than 44% of whom understand and communicate in Hindi. This was the main driver behind IFCN's decision to have a Hindi version of its chatbot containing fake news about the coronavirus pandemic.
Fact Checking Sources
The Hindi chatbot would provide content drawn from the Jagran group's investigative unit, Vishwas News, in addition to India Today, News Mobile, The Quaint, Fact Crescendo and Newschecker. The database would include more than 250 fact checks at the outset with more being added daily. These sources are part of IFCN's fact-checking team in India. In a prepared statement, IFCN Director Baybars Orsek said: "Billions of users rely on WhatsApp to keep in touch with friends and family every month. Because bad actors use every platform to spread lies, deceive to others in difficult times, fact The work of fact-checkers is more important than ever. Since January, IFCN's CoronavirusFacts Alliance has been using the ability of the fact-checking community to help users separate truth from fiction by debunking falsehoods about the COVID-19 pandemic IFCN's new Hindi chatbot will allow users to search for fact checks and connect with fact checkers from their smartphones.Chatbot will also serve as a way to direct people to the websites of your local fact checkers.