The community journalism initiative in Complexo do Alemão will share real-time alerts and reliable information about the virus.
Rio de Janeiro, May 11, 2020 – Seeing the need of some community residents for reliable information amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the U.S. Consulate General in Rio de Janeiro and the community outlet, Voz das Comunidades, from Complexo do Alemão, launched an application focused on disseminating reliable information about Covid-19. The app, developed by Voz das Comunidades and funded by the U.S. Consulate in Rio de Janeiro, combats misinformation in the effort to minimize the impacts of the pandemic in communities with social vulnerability.
”As members of the Rio community, we are committed to helping Rio and Brazil in their response to Covid-19. Supporting respected voices within communities and preventing the spread of myths about the disease is an efficient way to respond to one of the most urgent challenges of this pandemic: the spread of the virus among vulnerable populations,” commented Scott Hamilton, Consul General at the U.S. Consulate in Rio de Janeiro.
The app is already accessible for download and has three sections. “Live” delivers real-time updates, including notifications about breaking news or myths circulating on social media. “Facts” directly addresses misinformation by presenting news verified by the team of editors with a ”true” or ”false” stamp. Last, “Jornal” affords users access to content already produced by Voz das Comunidades, including articles about prevention, research, support networks, specialists’ advice, and informative guides.
”As coronavirus continues to spread within favelas, we see there is a lot of disinformation and fake news circulating on social media. The Voz das Comunidades app is being launched in a moment of extreme importance for favela residents that do not know what to do during the pandemic,” says René Silva, founder of Voz das Comunidades.
Available for Android and Iphone devices, the app can be found under the name ”Voz das Comunidades.” An estimated 30,000 people from 20 favelas in Rio are anticipated to use the app during the first month.
For more information, please reach out to the U.S. Consulate in Rio de Janeiro by e-mail: imprensario@state.gov or by phone: +55 21 97251-3856
