WHO and Rakuten Viber join forces to jointly fight against misinformation regarding COVID-19

Press Release: World Health Organization (WHO) and Rakuten Viber today announced their partnership to combat misinformation regarding the disease COVID-19 with the help of an interactive chatbot available in multiple languages. The goal of the chatbot is to respond to fake news and false information that is spreading quickly about this disease.

The chatbot is available to anyone looking for accurate information in English, Arabic, Russian, and soon more than 20 languages. The chatbot answers the most frequently asked questions about the pandemic and offers the latest information.

The Latest News section is updated in real time and publishes information directly from the official WHO website. All this right on your smartphone. Other main sections are “How to protect yourself”, “Using a mask”, “Recommendations for travel” and the interactive section “Myths”, where you will find a quiz that will test your knowledge about the COVID-19 virus.

"WHO is working to ensure access to reliable information to as many people as possible with the help of digital technologies. Information has power and can save lives in this pandemic.” said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

"We help people stay connected while working with local and global health organizations around the world to provide information and the ability to fight the spread of misinformation. Rakuten Viber and WHO are working together to ensure that individuals and communities have access to information even in these difficult times. By using a chatbot, you get access to information that you can share with other people to help each other," he said Djamel Agaoua, CEO of Rakuten Viber.

The chatbot is free and available to all 1,1 billion Viber users worldwide. Viber is also launching a special set of stickers aimed at supporting the work of healthcare workers fighting the virus and also aims to spread motivation and a positive attitude in a time of many restrictions. Anyone who downloads the stickers automatically has access to the chatbot.

• The chatbot is available here.

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