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Trending: Off grid conversations on Ebola in Sierra Leone

Off grid conversations on Ebola in Sierra Leone

11/10/2014

BBC World Service - Trending, Off grid conversations on Ebola in Sierra Leone

How Sierra Leoneans are discussing Ebola on private chat apps.

How Sierra Leoneans are discussing Ebola on private chat apps; Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Clean India” challenge.

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa, first reported in March 2014, has rapidly become the deadliest occurrence of the diseases since its discovery in 1976. At the time of the broadcast it has claimed almost four thousands lives in Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. 

In this week’s programme we take a closer look at how the Ebola virus has been trending on social media, both in the countries affected and worldwide. The presenter Mukul Devichand speaks to one passionate Sierra Leonean from Virgina, USA about her unique way of helping people back home. And we gain unique access to private chat app groups where Sierra Leoneans are moving their online conversations to in the fear of being penalised by the authorities for speaking up.  

Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched his Clean India campaign. Relying on the highly successful ice bucket challenge model, he nominated nine high profile people to take up the Swachh Bharat challenge. But have they taken it up?

Mukul Devichand is joined in the studio by Ravin Sampat from the Trending Team and Andree Massiah, the BBC’s social media producer on Ebola.

The programme was produced by Anna Meisel

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