Why an Indian Village Leader's Welfare Reels Are Going Viral

The Mongolian Association of Sign Language Interpreters launched a free social media service that provides interpreters for people with hearing impairments. Using Facebook Messenger, the service allows clients to use video calls to talk with a sign language interpreter, who then reaches out to an institution or an individual on the client’s behalf. The initiative has six sign language interpreters and has fielded 3,543 calls. Interpreters help people get information and resolve problems, with most clients seeking assistance communicating with medical professionals and government welfare offices.

To get around algorithms that have flagged and removed Palestinian content, users on platforms like Facebook and Instagram are using an old version of Arabic, dating back at least a thousand years, that doesn’t have diacritical points (dots above or below letters). Converting Arabic into a dotless form in social media posts makes it much more challenging for AI machines to identify because they use a binary code to identify each letter.

The NewsRun is “a daily newsletter that summarizes Pakistan’s major stories of the day." It’s helping Pakistani people stay on top of the news. Some Pakistani people who live in the country get overwhelmed with the daily news cycle, while Pakistani’s living abroad might have a language barrier or lack the context to understand the news. The clear, direct language of the newsletter makes the news accessible. "The way it’s written is clear and it highlights all the key points I need to know." The newsletter has thousands of Instagram followers and a “20 to 30 percent daily open rate.”

The ability of social media and online civic participation to impact law and politics is still developing, but one social media tool - Friendfactor - was used successfully in New York to help bring about the passage of Gay Marriage Equality. It may be an indicator for how powerful platforms like this one will continue to play a role in societal growth and change.

In an effort to address a lack of broadband access, Indigenous communities are working together, and with local organizations, to acquire funding to bring internet access to their communities and close the digital divide.

The BrandTell Nigeria Business Group is a WhatsApp group that provides daily interactive sessions on building online brand visibility to business owners with little to no online presence. Those subscribed to the group also have access to online tools for bookkeeping, graphic design and content creation to help grow their business.

The Tufunguke initiative works to raise awareness, educate and provide a community for those experiencing mental health issues. Tufunguke creates a safe space both online through social media platforms and in person through events for people to come together to discuss mental health and get connected with care resources Tufunguke reaches about 100,000 people a month through its many social media accounts.

A data analyst who is a Microsoft-certified trainer uploads videos on social media teaching digital technology skills in the Yorùbá language. The videos are free to watch and break the language barrier that arises with most English-only tech information available online.

When Facebook rolled out its Free Basics program offering internet services through a company-controlled portal, Indian activists launched the Save the Internet campaign to oppose the initiative and the practice of "zero-rating" on the grounds that these practices violated Net Neutrality. Through marches, social media organizing, and viral videos, the movement was able to sway public opinion and the Indian regulatory authority ultimately outlawed zero-rating.

J Blood Match uses intelligence-enabled bots to match people in need of blood with registered donors. Registered users answer a series of prompts to determine their needs, the program identifies matches among a pool of registered donors, and once a match is accepted contact information is shared.