Response (COVID-19 Special)

Today is a special episode because the world is battling COVID-19 - a deadly strain of Coronavirus. After Ebola, this is the most closely watched global pandemic and social media has played a big part in spreading advice and misinformation.

Because this topic is on a deadly global pandemic, we may be discussing subjects that might be distressing for some people, so take care when listening. 

Joining host Bex on this completely remote podcast we have:

Regular Hera Hussain, who is in self-isolation and is getting COVID-19 related news every second from her family who work in the NHS, which is driving her crazy. 

We also have two fantastic guests:

Jane Lytvynenko who is fighting the misinformation warfare on the frontlines for Buzzfeed and is joining us from Toronto, Canada, where the cases have increased and the government has announced border closures.

Nathan Young, a Political Technologist and Newspeak House Fellow. He works in institutional decision making and co-founded CoronavirusTechHandbook.com

Stat of the week:

The ultimate crowdsourced coronavirus handbook. It has 23 editable sections, 100s of projects, 23 chat threads and has received 186k views in the last week.

Charity news of the week:  

Covid-19 Mutual aid - How to help the vulnerable near you

South Korea's ‘Safety guidance texts’ sent by the authorities contain an avalanche of personal information 

Tech news of the week: 

ODI shares why governments around the world should be openly publishing the data and models that underpin their decision-making around Covid-19 

Several of India's mobile networks are playing a 30-second information alert about coronavirus before the start of every phone call.

Rant of the week:

Hoaxes and disinformation

Buzzfeed is keeping track of the fake news 

Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Reddit, Twitter and YouTube have all partnered up to tackle the crisis. 

Nice of the week:

Wikimedia went to half-time work for all staff and contractors — 20 hours a week, but full time pay.

Italian hospital saves Covid-19 patients lives by 3D printing valves for reanimation devices

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Please wash your hands. Self-isolate. Check in on people. Support your local businesses. Champion your health workers! We all need to stick together in these times.

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Listeners, what did you think? We’d love to hear your thoughts. Get in touch on twitter @techforgoodlive or Email at [email protected] 

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Thanks to the wonderful podcast.co for hosting us in a beautiful mirrored studio. Which you can’t see. But it is pretty. If you want to create a podcast, you can find everything you need on their website.

We’d also like to thank Happy Porch for their sponsorship which will allow us to have our episodes transcribed, helping us be more inclusive and accessible. Happy Porch provide strategy, technology and development for purpose driven organisations. You can find out more about them at happyporch.com