Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • Meet the influencers who are fighting the spread of online conspiracy theories

    Social media influencers are using “pre-bunking” -- the practice of exposing people to misinformation and offering expert-backed explanations of why it isn’t true before they see the misinformation in the wild – as a tool to fight its spread and increase media literacy. Hundreds of thousands of people follow accounts on TikTok and Instagram run by influencers whose goals are not to change the minds of staunch conspiracy theorists, but rather to provide tools for those who are either on the fence or want to learn to communicate with people in their lives who subscribe to false information.

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  • Indians are crowdsourcing aid as covid surges

    In India, citizen-led small-scale digital efforts are helping to connect Covid-19 patients with the resources, supplies, and medical equipment they need to survive. The citizen groups are largely using online platforms to crowdsource what they need, with some matching buyers and sellers and others "debunking inaccurate leads."

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  • The exchange project uniting young Americans during the pandemic

    The American Exchange Project connects high school students from different socio-economic, racial, and regional backgrounds across the U.S, with hopes to become the country’s first domestic exchange program after the pandemic. So far, 175 students at 39 schools in 14 states have connected in weekly online “hangouts” where discussion topics range from favorite music and other commonalities in the lives of teenagers to more serious issues such as racism. Getting to know people from different backgrounds has helped dispel stereotypes and some participants have forged real friendships with one another.

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  • Enterprising Solutions: Local Paper Builds, Benefits from Facebook Boom

    The strategic use of social media has helped The Oconee Enterprise increase subscribers, and therefore revenue. When a new issue of the paper is ready, a low-resolution preview of the front page is posted, with essentially only headlines visible, to incentivize people to purchase a paper or subscribe online. Editors also post breaking news directly on Facebook rather than the paper’s website. Its total page likes went up from 3,500 to its current audience of over 7,300, and the number of subscribers is up as well.

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  • Citizen-Led Initiative Battles Dangerous ‘Infodemic'

    Verificovid was started by a group of friends to combat pandemic-related misinformation in Mexico. They work with a group of government doctors to identify, track, investigate, and disprove misinformation. The group posts infographics with updated COVID-19 statistics on social media – mainly Whatsapp and Telegram – and offers medical tips via short audio messages and texts. They prioritize fast-moving misinformation that could cause the most harm and, along with sharing the truth, they investigate the origin of the misinformation and teach the public how to identify and stop fake news.

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  • In a Pennsylvania town, a Facebook group fills the local news void

    In areas with no newspapers, locals are increasingly turning to Facebook groups to share resources and information about local happenings, particularly crime. Many of The News Alerts of Beaver County's 43,000 members praise the benefits of the group, in which members can post and comment on local news, including everything from infrastructure and businesses to lost dogs and suspected criminals on the loose. However, critics claim it is a hub for misinformation and vigilantism. The group is moderated, but the misinformation, which is shared in good faith by neighbors, is hard to spot without training.

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  • Sanbornton Connect(s) seniors aging in place

    Sanbornton Connect is a local information exchange and social network for aging residents who share advice about meeting the physical, mental, and emotional challenges of living out their years independently in their own homes. The network started just before the pandemic, but quickly filled a vacuum left by the community's shutdown. Three dozen residents gather monthly on Zoom to trade tips and hear from experts. The goal is to provide personal connections in a sparsely populated town, and in a way that helps people plan before they're in a crisis as their health declines.

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  • Gen Z Angels: How A Younger Generation Of Investors Is Getting In On Deals

    Gen Z VCs supports early-career and aspiring venture capitalists who want to become angel investors. The group was founded in November 2020, after the Securities and Exchange Commission loosened the rules about who can invest in early-stage startups and allowed start-ups to raise money through crowd-funding. The group, which has grown to more than 6,000 members, moderates Slack channels where members can post deals, help make connections, and share information to demystify the world of angel investing.

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  • The plus-size knitters who are solving an inclusivity problem

    Knitters are using social media, crowdsourcing, and spreadsheets to make the knitwear industry more inclusive of different body types. Designer Sarah Krentz offers patterns using an interactive spreadsheet where knitters fill in key measurements like bust, waist, and bicep circumference and the pattern automatically populates with the correct number of stitches and rows based on a pre-set formula created by Krentz. Fat Test Knits connects designers to plus size knitters who will test the patters. The site also serves as a bulletin board where moderators have vetted and shared over 500 patterns since 2019.

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  • PPE for the People

    During the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic, volunteers across Belarus worked together to collect and deliver personal protective equipment to frontline workers, despite the Belarusian government denying the spread of the coronavirus. Using social media to organize, the volunteers "served as a kind of SWAT team able to bypass the bureaucracy to obtain the necessary equipment."

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