BOOM Live has launched senior citizen workshops to increase COVID-19 awareness as well as tackle the deluge of misinformation surrounding the pandemic. BOOM has partnered with renowned actor Aasif Sheikh to produce five short informational films to highlight COVID-19 appropriate behaviour.
In the series titled "Sansani Nahin Sirf Sach", Aasif Sheikh, in his characteristic style, urges the viewer to get vaccinated, continue to wear masks in the correct way, use discretion when reading forwards on social media and maintain self-care habits.
The first short film tackles vaccine hesitancy with Aasif Sheikh, who serves as the initiative's ambassador in the films, reassuring viewers that vaccines are safe to use and have helped in battling various deadly diseases over the years.
The pandemic has caused an information overload driven by the the penetration of social media which can cause confusion and mistrust. Senior citizens, due to various technical and awareness constraints, are most vulnerable to this infodemic and are prone to falling for misinformation and fake news.
In a bid to tackle this information gap, BOOM will partner with senior citizen forums, organizations, and associations across India to host free online workshops titled "Information Overload in times of COVID-19" that are aimed to empower senior citizen participants to distinguish between news, opinion, propaganda, and analysis. BOOM has also launched five short film series that aims to build awareness around COVID-19 appropriate behaviour, especially among senior citizens.