Coronavirus updates in Hindi, Bangla, Tamil and 6 more Indian languages on Wikipedia

Coronavirus related information now available in 9 Indian languages on WikipediaCases of COVID-19 are rising significantly in India with every passing day. In just a week it has crossed the 700 mark and this is worrying the Indian government as well as the citizens. While India is under 21 days lockdown until April 14 people are stuck at home and are completely dependent on the internet, social media and television for information related to coronaviruspandemic . Wikipedia is providing COVID-19 related information in 9 Indian languages including Bangla, Bhojpuri, Hindi, Kannada, Arabic, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned against an “infodemic” of inaccurate information “that makes it hard for people to find trustworthy sources and reliable guidance when they need it.” This is a monumental challenge that a group of Wikipedia editors is tackling as they add, review, and improve COVID-19 information in English as well as 9 Indian languages. Given Wikipedia follow an open editing model designed to prevent bias it has partnered with SWASTHA, a branch of another much larger Wikipedia group — WikiProject Medicine which includes doctors and experts from around the globe. WikiProject Medicine has so far produced more than 35,000 medical articles across different languages that are monitored by more than 150 editors. With this partnership, Wikipedia aims to make critical coronavirus health information freely accessible to all Indians. “Verifying what is a coronavirus fact versus fiction is a huge job, and we are calling on local universities to help as we increase efforts to translate and review local Indic content about the pandemic,” said Abhishek Suryawanshi who’s a part of the newly-formed Wikipedia group. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines