‘Twitter For Emergencies’ handbook launched in collaboration with Indian ‘Covid Sheroes’

The handbook was created in collaboration with the women who created support networks to help coordinate relief efforts during the second wave of the pandemic in the country.

The handbook makes recommendations on how to use the platform during emergencies. (Image credit: AP)

Twitter India has joined hands with women’s rights organisation Breakthrough India to launch a “Twitter For Emergencies” handbook. This will help users understand how the platform can be used during emergencies. The handbook was created in collaboration with “Covid Sheroes”, which includes women who created networks to coordinate relief efforts during the disastrous second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in May 2021.

It lists out ways in which individuals and non-organisations can use the platform to reach out to help and resources during an emergency. The handbook has been divided into three sections. The first section gives details about how users can make their SOS tweets more visible. It makes recommendations like tweeting with a call-to-action, adding emergency keywords, and emergency hashtags.

The second section is dedicated to helping users verify the information they receive on the platform. It recommends including local community organisers, city and state services, and first responders in the list that consists of emergency information from high-quality sources among other things.

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The third section gives important tips about maintaining privacy while sharing information publicly. Some of the recommendations it makes include keeping display pictures generic, not giving away private and personal information, and following only trusted people to build a network of reliable sources.

Yesterday, Twitter unveiled a version of its website on the Tor network, which could potentially allow Russian users to access the website even after the Russian government banned it along with many other sites in the country.