Digizen Africa

Globally, over 5 billion people are now internet users, with Africa recording one of the fastest growth rates in digital adoption. At the same time, studies consistently show a rise in misinformation, online harassment, data privacy concerns, and digital security risks. The scale and speed at which information spreads today means that individual actions online can have far-reaching consequences.

A single post can shape public perception.
Unverified information can influence decisions at scale.
Digital interactions can impact mental wellbeing, trust, and social cohesion.

Digital inclusion without digital responsibility creates exposure to risk. Equipping people with access to technology must go hand in hand with building awareness, critical thinking, and ethical decision-making.

Digital citizenship is not limited to online safety. It encompasses media literacy, responsible communication, data awareness, and the ability to participate constructively in digital society.

As Africa’s digital economy continues to expand, the long-term impact will depend not only on infrastructure and innovation, but also on the behavior and values of the people using these systems.

If we are serious about shaping a sustainable digital future, then digital citizenship must be treated as a priority, not an afterthought.

And that begins with deliberate, informed conversations.

A Digizen:
* Thinks before sharing information
* Communicates responsibly online
* Protects their digital identity
* Uses technology to contribute positively to society

In simple terms:

A Digizen is a responsible digital citizen.

A digital citizen understands that actions online have real-life consequences. From the content we share to the way we respond to others, every digital interaction contributes to the kind of online culture we create.

Digital citizenship includes:
* Online safety and privacy
* Media literacy and identifying misinformation
* Respectful and responsible communication
* Protecting digital identity and reputation
* Using technology for learning, growth, and positive impact

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(Part 3)

__Now is the time for action. We need your help.

As many of you know, I’m part of an initiative that is lobbying for a $100bn Stimulus Fund for African governments to help their businesses and entrepreneurs, including I expect some of you here on this platform. Problem is, we just don’t have enough data to support our work. No one really knows what is happening!

You can help us, help you. When it comes to Africa, one of the biggest challenges we have is getting accurate information (data) to help us convince governments and global donors. This is where you come in. Give us the data! How?

Please complete at least one or, if possible, ALL of the five surveys I am going to share with you here on this post and again in the Afterthoughts. (Note: This image is NOT a map where COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in Africa. The pins you see show where we have gathered data from surveys so far, as we launch these five surveys today. We want data from across the continent. Please help us make sure we hear from your community).

We are doing this because my team at Liquid Telecom Kenya was asked by Kenya’s leading industrialists to help develop a platform to help them collect data that can help them in their push for assistance for Kenyan businesses.

When I saw this platform, I asked my team to expand it so that it can help any country. The platform they created is being released to Africa, for the very first time through this platform.

Now if your nation is in national lockdown and you are staying isolated through social distancing as you must, you might feel you can’t do much to help, but you are wrong.

__By taking the time to fill out and also share these surveys with your friends and colleagues, you are doing something very important to help us get assistance to Africa. Fill out all of them if you they are relevant to you:

#1. SME Business Impact Survey: https://ushahidi.covid-19.ke/posts/create/5

#2. Self-Isolation Survey: https://ushahidi.covid-19.ke/posts/create/2

#3. Working-from-Home Survey: https://ushahidi.covid-19.ke/posts/create/7

#4. General COVID-19 Knowledge Survey: https://ushahidi.covid-19.ke/posts/create/8

#5. Social Distancing Impact Survey: - https://ushahidi.covid-19.ke/posts/create/9

Why is this information important?

Think for instance, when you read or hear a government say that “few people have tested positive” … How can we be assured that they have put in place mechanisms to actually identify and trace people who have the virus?

Remember: many people themselves will get away with mild symptoms, and yet manage to infect (and even unknowingly kill) other people they come in contact with, whilst others will simply lie at home and get support from family until they recover. Sadly many will die.

Problem is, we don’t know yet enough…

Then there is the challenge of so many businesses and entrepreneurs like many of you, now forced to work from home. What impact is this having on you, your business, your family?

If we don’t have data, then how can we advocate for help?

__Today I need YOU each to take action by completing these five surveys, and over the next seven days, to share this post or the links with your friends and colleagues.

When you complete each one, your personal information is all kept confidential and private, but we extract common information to create a map. This map will be shown to organizations like:

# United Nations

# World Bank

# African Development Bank

# IMF

# Many others… including your own ministers and Presidents, many who are considering urgent new policy and budget priorities as I write.

Guys, I cannot over-stress the importance of completing at least one survey. Even if you do not have a business, or are not sick, please find a way to complete them. You are doing this for yourself, your community, your country, your continent, the world…

__We need to know more so we can help find and .

, means joining forces to win this battle!

This is how we fight: By being smart in the digital age!

Remember: When you have completed the survey, ask at least 5 friends and colleagues to do the same.

!

To be continued. . .

Image caption: If you want to track whether voices in your own country are being heard through people filling out these surveys, on the circles at this LIVE link and check it out: https://ushahidi.covid-19.ke/views/map

These pins on the map show you where we have received surveys so far! We want to hear from everywhere. Please help us.

FACT CHECK
Coronavirus: Is Nigerian government planning to pay citizens N8,500 per week?

Verdict: False

CLAIM:
A viral message being shared among Nigerians on WhatsApp and Twitter claims that the Federal Government is set to pay citizens N8,500 per week to sustain the stay at home directive for the containment of the Coronavirus outbreak in Nigeria.
The said message claimed that the grant will be made available to all Nigerians from Monday, March 23, 2020.
This message is very similar to scam messages that seek to lure Nigerians into sending a certain amount of money in exchange for some kind of opportunity.

FACT:
In a swift investigation, fact-checkers at the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD followed the link shared by the purveyors of the claim.
The link lead leads to a page titled, ‘COVID-19 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT GRANTS’, a website.

Also, users are led to a page where they provide their names, addresses, telephone numbers, email address and bank details for a supposed payment of the grant.
After filling in those details, you are taken to step two, which is pictured below:
The final page requests that the user shares the link with at least 10 groups before going to the final step - a clear strategy to spread the message as widely as possible to ensnare unsuspecting Nigerians into parting with sensitive information.

CDD gathered that all Federal Government programs are hosted on government domains, which means that the website will usually end in ‘.gov.ng’ or ‘.gov’; this website is hosted on Blogspot, which is Google's free hosting platform. This means that this portal could be opened by anybody and potentially put users at risk of losing private information or worse.

Conclusion:
The claims in this message are FALSE! The CDD urges users to be wary of messages such as this; always make sure that it is an official domain name before providing confidential and private sensitive information.

One of the major problems that make fighting crisis and outbreak such as very difficult is the problem of "Fake News".
A lot of fake news on have been flying around everyday in Nigeria making it difficult for people to know the truth and take precautions.
As part of our efforts to combat fake news in Nigeria while the government and health officials focus on fighting the virus, we are creating the Response Team.
This team will scour the internet for credible and legitimate information and also expose fake news
platforms and myths.

Who can join?

Anyone interested in combating fake news
Tech savvy individuals
Cybersecurity experts
Health workers
Graphic Designers
Content creators
Writters
Bloggers
Video Editors
Whiteboard Animators
Community Journalists
And any one who can contribute in any way to this team.

Kindly follow the link below to join our WhatsApp group

https://chat.whatsapp.com/CUu9otwdSp7LfbipPuT9EQ

📣📣📣
MTN Nigeria is providing free internet access to it's customers to keep up with updates on Corona virus pandemic.
It gives you free access to the WHO, NCDC, and Federal Ministry of Health websites.

Link: https://www.mtnonline.com/covid-19-info-resources/