Social networking mostly good at directing aid to Haiti
The outpouring of heartbreaking information flowing out from and relief pouring into the shattered nation of Haiti has been staggering over the past two days.
The ability to donate $5 to Wyclef Jean’s Yele Haiti foundation or $10 to the Red Cross via SMS has eliminated roadblocks for many people who might have been inclined to give but unsure where or how to send money and networks like Facebook and Twitter have allowed the information to proliferate rapidly and thoroughly. The campaign has been wildly successful, the Red Cross says:
Red Cross spokesman Jonathan Aiken said the money raised in the text-messaging campaign is a sizable portion of the $10 million total that the relief group has brought in for Haiti.
“That’s a phenomenal number that’s never been achieved before,” he said. “People text up to three times at 10 bucks a pop. You’re talking about roughly 300,000 people actually spontaneously deciding, ‘I can spare $10 for this. And that’s remarkable.”
A Facebook group dedicated to disseminating information about the situation in Haiti, Earthquake Haiti, gained 102,000 members in the last 42 hours, similar to the number of people who’ve belonged to a similar Red Cross page since its inception. While the social media push has done wonders to get money to relief organizations on the ground in Haiti, some false information has been spreading that may be harmful to getting help to where it’s needed expeditiously.
UPS has pledged $1 million to relief efforts in Haiti, but there is a Twitter rumor of unknown origin circulating that claims packages of up to 50 lbs. will be shipped free to Haiti. (UPS says all delivery in Haiti is suspended due to a breakdown of roads and communication efforts.) Another falsehood spreading is that airlines such as JetBlue and American Airlines are flying medical personnel to Haiti for free– a hoax airline bigwigs call “a very low thing to do.”
Although many people mean well, interested parties inquiring about the rumors are tying up helplines, possibly preventing or delaying aid in actually getting to Haiti.
