India’s first and leading fact-checking initiative, Boom Live launched senior citizen workshops towards COVID-19 awareness and 5 short informational films that aim to highlight Covid-19 appropriate behavior. As the world battles the coronavirus pandemic, it is also challenged by an information overload in the digital as well as physical environment. It can cause confusion and mistrust. Senior citizens, due to various technical and awareness constraints, are most vulnerable to this infodemic.
In order to address the information gap, BOOM will partner with senior citizen forums, organizations, and associations across India to host free online workshops titled ‘Information Overload in times of COVID-19’. These are aimed to empower senior citizen participants to distinguish between news, opinion, propaganda, and analysis. BOOM has also launched 5 short film series that aims to build awareness around COVID-19 appropriate behavior, especially among senior citizens.
A team of BOOM fact-checkers led by HR Venkatesh (Director, Training and Research, BOOM Live), the workshops will explain the concept of misinformation, disinformation, and unverified news, factors responsible for such news, and the nature of information overload.
