Technology
Brush up on coronavirus facts vs. fiction with Snapchat game
If you’re unsure about a coronavirus-related question, the best place to go is an official health agency website, like the CDC’s coronavirus FAQ page, or the World Health Organization’s “myth busters” portal.
But if you’re just looking to test your knowledge and bone up on Covid-19 facts, you can now do so with a trivia game in your Snapchat app —and the help of an animated coronavirus molecule.
At 12:00 a.m. PT on Thursday, Snapchat will roll out a “Covid-19 Myth Busting” game. It’s a trivia game that appears as an interactive filter over the selfie-facing camera view. The questions and answers are based on information from the WHO, and contain a similar content to the organization’s dedicated myth-busting center.
Look, coronavirus is no game. But the more people know about how to prevent its spread — whether they acquire that knowledge through targeted information seeking or a lighthearted but factually correct game — the better.
When you start playing, a question about coronavirus (Can coronavirus stay on your skin?) will appear at the bottom of the screen, and you tap “true” or “false.” The filter will then change, showing whether you got it right or wrong.
You then have the option to tap the camera button on that screen, which lets you to send a snap of yourself within the frame of the game to a friend. That friend can then play the game, too, and you can send questions and answers back and forth to each other. Public health, but make it cute.
The game will roll out in the lens carousel to snapchat users late Wednesday/early Thursday; the icon is a yellow circle with a blue coronavirus illustration.
However, you can try out the game right now by scanning the Snapchat code below with the app’s camera. Then, the game should pop right up. From there, you can play, test your knowledge, and challenge your friends.
Tech companies are battling coronavirus misinformation through fact portals, down-ranking and removing harmful information and products, introducing fact-checking programs, and more. Snapchat also launched a new way to learn about coronavirus through a designated space in its Discover platform on Wednesday. The trivia game is an altogether different, and readily accessible, approach.
Without in-person school or activities, maybe the Snapchat youth will be just bored enough to play a game that trojan horses public health information into their brains. Will it be enough to get them to take social distancing seriously? Here’s hoping.
-
Entertainment6 days ago
Summer Movie Preview: From ‘Alien’ and ‘Furiosa’ to ‘Deadpool and Wolverine’
-
Business7 days ago
Petlibro’s new smart refrigerated wet food feeder is what your cat deserves
-
Entertainment5 days ago
What’s on the far side of the moon? Not darkness.
-
Business5 days ago
How Rubrik’s IPO paid off big for Greylock VC Asheem Chandna
-
Business6 days ago
Thoma Bravo to take UK cybersecurity company Darktrace private in $5B deal
-
Business4 days ago
TikTok faces a ban in the US, Tesla profits drop and healthcare data leaks
-
Business4 days ago
London’s first defense tech hackathon brings Ukraine war closer to the city’s startups
-
Business6 days ago
Zomato’s quick commerce unit Blinkit eclipses core food business in value, says Goldman Sachs