NEW YORK: Ahead of World Press Freedom Day on Friday (today), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has unveiled a chatbot which offers safety tips to journalists on their phones via WhatsApp.
The tool has been designed to expand the reach and usability of CPJ’s suite of safety tools tailored for elections, protests, and digital and physical safety, according to a statement released on Wednesday.
“In a year in which half the world’s population will head to the polls and amid heightened threats against the press, CPJ’s safety chatbot delivers crucial physical, digital, and psycho-social safety information directly into the hands of journalists whenever and wherever they need it,” said Lucy Westcott, the CPJ’s emergencies director, on Wednesday.
“As journalists around the world confront multiple challenges in their work, this initiative will support journalists to stay safe before, during, and after their assignments.”
The chatbot automatically sends safety information to journalists, providing them with critical resources, including risk assessments, guidance for reporting in a war zone, digital safety information, and advice on reporting in environments containing unexploded ordnance (UXO).
To access the information, journalists should add CPJ’s journalist safety chatbot as a contact using the number +1 206-590-6191, open WhatsApp, and text “Hello”. A menu of journalist safety resource options will appear for users to navigate and select from.
Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2024
