This archive report was first published on 27 April 2020.
As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads globally, misinformation about the virus has become a major concern. In Kenya, a student at Dedan Kimathi University of Technology has taken it upon himself to combat this issue with an innovative AI-powered platform.
Brian Ndegwa, a second-year student pursuing a BA in Information Technology, created Rona, a bot that aims to curb misinformation and propaganda surrounding the pandemic. The platform allows users to ask questions, which are then answered with relevant responses or links to verified articles from reputable sources such as the World Health Organization (WHO), Centre for Disease Control (CDC), and the Ministry of Health.
According to Ndegwa, the idea for Rona was born out of concern for the spread of misinformation on social media. He noticed that people were expressing anxiety and panic on Twitter, mainly triggered by unverified information. To combat this, he developed a system that would fight misinformation and provide accurate information to the public.
With the help of DeHub, the university's innovation centre, Ndegwa developed Rona in just six days. The platform has already been rolled out to the public as a free product and has seen over 1,500 users receive over 7,000 messages relayed on the platform in just one week. The majority of users have come from Kenya, accounting for 95% of the total user base, with a few from the US, UK, Netherlands, UAE, and Uganda.
DeHub Coordinator, Kenneth Njihia, expressed the team's commitment to providing accurate and verified information, stating that Rona is not monetized and aims to provide solutions to help the community. An upgraded version of Rona is set to be released by the end of the week, which will be more intelligent and inspired by the government's call to the youth to combat the spread of COVID-19.
