In the wake of the international Ebola virus spread, organisations are trying to inform people on the precautionary metres they need to take in order to protect themselves against the dangerous virus. Social Media and messaging platforms could not be left out of this initiative, with BBC launching a WhatsApp service to inform everyone interested.
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The service will provide audio, text message alerts and image services to all those subscribed in two languages; English and French. It aims to inform people about the disease and combat it with the help of the community and, especially, users in West Africa.
This group chat aims to be the biggest information source about the virus, given that the WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app used in Africa. This way, a large amount of people who may be affected can be reached directly and instantly. More information on how to subscribe can be found here.
Apart from that service though, there is another site that helps build awareness regarding the Ebola virus: Ebolanear.me. It simply calculates the closest Ebola virus case, by retrieving browser’s location, and provides users with useful further readings and facts about the virus
How do you find these initiatives? Do you think that social media can help contain the spread of the virus?
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