UnaHakika.org to Expand to the Coast to Help Counter Violence Related Misinformation

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January 22, 2021

Sometimes we take advantage of what we have. Imagine we all had no access to Twitter, Facebook or the local news channels we have access to.

We wouldn’t know what’s happening in out towns and people would be reporting their own versions of news they way yhey want. This is the kind of life the Tana Delta residents have been living until the rollout of Una Hakika. The residents had limited information sources local chiefs, village elders and religious leaders and others which were incapable of verifying information.

Una Hakika, a new information service developed by the Sentinel Project in partnership with iHub Research and funded by IDRC, enables subscribers to receive information which is verifiable in a move to counter and manage violence related misinformation.

Una Hakika acts as an information system by giving people true, timely and accurate information so that they can make informed decisions. It works via people subscribing to a short code and thereafter can with ease report rumours. Verification is done using local authorities, community ambassadors and local NGOs.

Una Hakika gives subscribers true, accurate information and advice on actions taken or to be taken, especially if it is a security concernto help silence rumours in the Tana Delta which were the main cause of violence in the area which claimed over 100 lives. Una Hakika uses SMS, voice calls and the engagement of volunteer community ambassadors.

People who hear rumours can report them by sending a toll-free SMS to Una Hakika’s short code – 21512 – which essentially acts as a rumour verification hotline. Once Una Hakika receives a report about a rumour, its team goes into action to verify it and report back to the community about whether the rumour is true or not. Una Hakika verifies the reports and maps them to see how they develop and flow through the area.

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Una Hakika works closes with WikiRumours, a web- and mobile-based open source platform for moderating misinformation and disinformation.”From our survey we found that 81% of the 249 survey respondents use mobile phones and due to their availability and their use, it has proved to be the most practical and effective technology,” says Una Hakika.

Una Hakika is also building relationships with the people to have continuous face to face interactions which make the system trustworthy to the residents. The system is also serving as a bridge between the people and security organs in the countyas i allows users to report anonymously.

Una Hakika is set to be expanded to the whole coastal region due to the fact that the Coastal region and Tana Delta issues are interrelated and in counties prone to violence.

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