In today’s time, there is only one marriage who does not use WhatsApp. WhatsApp is the messaging application in India with the largest number of monthly active users in the world. With such strength, the application can become an efficient medium for spreading information or misinformation in some cases. A large number of messages related to politics, health, people are forwarded daily through the app. At the same time, through the app, a huge data base of unverified information is created and sent to lakhs of people. The company has added some fact checkers in the past to help weed out fake news. Now a chat bot has been launched to verify health tips. The new chatbot ‘Ask Raksha’ has been announced by THIP Media, a fact-checking platform.
THIP Media is a signatory to the International Fact Checking Network (IFCN), which works with verified medical professionals to investigate misleading news and claims about health, medicine, diet and treatment. The platform is published in English, English, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati and Nepali.
Raksha stands for Ready-Accessible Knowledge and Support for Health Action. It is built on the WhatsApp business platform and can be used by Indian citizens to find answers to fact-check any health information for free. Apart from this, users can also get answers to their health related questions directly. Users can also subscribe to Daily Health Tips or take a quiz to evaluate their health knowledge. The chatbot is currently in English but the company has confirmed that its English and Bengali versions will be launched soon.
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HOW TO ACCESS RAKSHA ON WHATSAPP
To access the chatbot and start a conversation with Raksha, users need to send “Hi” on WhatsApp to the number +91-85078-85079.
Shivnath Thukral, Director, Public Policy, WhatsApp India, said, “We are delighted to launch ‘Ask Raksha’ – the Healthy India Project’s chatbot built on the WhatsApp business platform that will help users access reliable health information. Party Fact-Checker is certified by the International Fact-Checking Network. At WhatsApp, the safety of our users is at the core of everything we do and we have made dedicated efforts to empower users with the resources and tools they need Which equip them to fact-check and get authentic information.Over the past two years we have partnered with several NGOs and Government Ministries including the Government of India to help people easily access accurate and verified COVID related information. To help launch MyGov Corona Helpdesk on WhatsApp.Ask Raksha is yet another partnership to ensure that citizens have access to reliable information regarding health-related queries.
Sudipta Sengupta, CEO, The Healthy Indian Project (THIP), said, “We are grateful to WhatsApp for supporting us in building this chatbot. It helps expand THIP Media’s objective of providing reliable health information to all Indians and protect them from health misinformation. ,
(cover photo credit- aichat)