09/03/2020
In March, we started a creative services agency 100% dedicated to fighting COVID. We had no idea what we were going to do, but we knew this was the most effective way to use our skillset to save lives.
Today, we launch a huge campaign—but also a movement. Both the federal government and the tech giants have failed us through this pandemic. We believe systemic change in this country must start at the local level and be culturally relevant. That's why we organized local officials, church leaders, and rappers in Albany, GA, to fight COVID misinformation and protect public housing—one of America's most vulnerable populations—with an alert app and a gospel rap music video. Check it out here: https://youtu.be/4jTiFhJ3eq8
Viewers are invited to join a new community alert system called First-to-Know, which the Albany Public Housing Authority (AHA) is implementing to efficiently manage its response to COVID and other emergencies.
We need a radical change in the way we consume information. Misinformation spreads twice as fast and twice as far on social media as the truth. This problem is baked into the tech giants' engagement-based business model. Attempts to solve it always fall flat—the federal government isn't equipped to make intelligent changes to the system, and the companies themselves aren't interested. Additionally, those dedicated to serving the best interests of their citizens can't compete with Kim Kardashian and Donald Trump on these platforms.
The First-to-Know System gets around the social media monopoly on our information diet with unignorable push notifications curated by trusted local officials whose job is keeping the community safe. If we want people to make the right decisions about COVID safety, we must make it fun and easy to get verified information about the pandemic. If we succeed in the AHA, we want to bring this system to all 3,400 housing authorities in the country. We want to bring it to local governments across the world. Our approach to civic communication must change—and this is that change.
Big thanks to Cantrell, Big Josh, OG Twelve, Jo3 h3nson, Bitta Beats, Coroner Michael Fowler, and the Mt Zion Baptist Church for saying it better than we ever could. None of this would have been possible without the courage of Dr. William Myles. Thank you.
We’re not just experiencing a pandemic, but an infodemic—the news about COVID can be overwhelming, and it’s hard for people to know what they can do to stay ...
