With all the sensationalized news surrounding Ebola on mainstream media, a new site is striving to tone down the hype.
Ebola Deeply is a news site dedicated solely to covering the latest global health crisis with a strong emphasis on context.
The site is the latest venture of News Deeply, created by former ABC News and Bloomberg foreign correspondent Lara Setrakian. Ebola Deeply is Setrakian’s second dive into single-issue coverage, succeeding the award-winning Syria Deeply that covers the region’s conflict.
"Ebola is hyped, but then also misunderstood," Setrakian told Fast Company. "There are real threats we're not seeing. We really need to integrate more of the science, more of the expertise."
The site is working with 34 freelance writers from Africa and the U.S to feature a mix of original articles and op-eds, as well as content from the Associated Press. The site also links to the latest articles from other news organizations; some of today’s curated offerings are from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journalism and Bloomberg.
A replica of Syria Deeply’s site design, Ebola Deeply features an interactive map of recent cases and death rates, a timeline of events, videos and more, all with the goal of presenting a streamlined user experience around a topic shrouded by misinformation.
The site also features a section called The Ebola Files, comprised of a glossary of medical terms, a history of the virus, survivor stories and more.
Image of Ebola treatment center in Sierra Leone CC-licensed on Flickr via European Commission DG ECHO