Fòs Feminista is an intersectional feminist organisation dedicated to advancing sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice for women, girls, and gender-diverse people across the Global South. Our partnership with Fòs Feminista focused on developing a culturally relevant, effective tool that empowers users to identify misinformation about Sexual and Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice (SRHRJ) and take meaningful action against anti-rights narratives. Through comprehensive research and stakeholder engagement, we’ve designed a tech-based solution that addresses the unique challenges and opportunities in each country’s context while leveraging the accessibility and familiarity of WhatsApp as a communication platform. This initiative responds to the growing influence of digital platforms in shaping public discourse around SRHR issues and recognizes WhatsApp’s significant reach and engagement potential across these regions.
Snapshot of the Partnership
Our collaboration with Fòs Feminista unfolded through a structured, multi-phase approach designed to ensure that the tool responds to genuine community needs and context-specific challenges:
- Phase I: Desk Research
We began by conducting extensive desk research to identify trends in WhatsApp usage across India, Nigeria, and Kenya, with particular attention to how health-related information circulates on the platform. This research provided critical insights into user behaviors, information consumption patterns, and the prevalence of misinformation related to SRHR topics.
- Phase II: Partner Consultations
Next, we hosted one-on-one consultations with existing partners within the Fòs Feminista Alliance across all three countries. These in-depth interviews using semi-structured formats helped us understand:
- The prevalent narratives around SRHR in each context
- Key actors driving both progressive and anti-rights discourse
- Potential stakeholders who could benefit from a WhatsApp-based advocacy tool
Our research revealed that partners across countries work on diverse aspects of SRHR—from abortion rights to maternal health to addressing sexual and gender-based violence. They engage with varied stakeholders including women, adolescents, young girls, queer individuals, policymakers, and healthcare providers. While their advocacy approaches share similarities, each organisation navigates unique cultural, political, and social landscapes that shape their work.
- Phase III: User Insights and Persona Development
To ensure the tool’s relevance and effectiveness, we worked with partners to develop detailed user personas that would guide the selection of participants for interviews. These interviews focused on understanding target audiences’ interactions with WhatsApp as a platform, their experiences with SRHR messaging, and specific informational needs.
- Tool Design: Fact-checking & Action Framework
Based on our research findings, we designed a tool with dual functionality:
- Fact-checking capability: Enables users to verify information about SRHR by submitting URLs of articles, videos, or speeches through a WhatsApp chatbot
- Action component: Provides users with options to counter misinformation through awareness sharing or supporting partner-led advocacy initiatives
The tool adopts the persona of a “Neighbourhood Fact-Checker” to establish trust and accessibility while maintaining a professional tone. It operates through an Instagram-WhatsApp integration, where an Instagram business page serves as the front-end to attract users and a WhatsApp chatbot provides the fact-checking service and action opportunities.
Our Impact
Our partnership with Fòs Feminista has resulted in a culturally responsive, action-oriented digital tool that addresses key challenges identified through our research. The tool provides users with factually accurate information about SRHR topics, countering prevalent misinformation with evidence-based resources. By verifying content against a trusted database, it helps bridge knowledge gaps and challenges anti-rights narratives that rely on misleading information.
Beyond fact-checking, the tool connects users to concrete action opportunities—whether sharing verified information with their networks or supporting local SRHR advocacy initiatives. This action component transforms passive information consumption into active engagement with SRHR issues.
While designed to address context-specific challenges in each country, the tool also creates opportunities for cross-learning and solidarity among SRHR advocates across India, Kenya, and Nigeria. The shared methodology with country-specific adaptations allows for comparing approaches and outcomes. Through this initiative, partner organizations have strengthened their digital advocacy capabilities and gained insights into effectively utilizing WhatsApp for information dissemination. The tool provides a replicable model that can be adapted for other SRHR advocacy objectives.
Key Takeaways
Our collaboration with Fòs Feminista to develop this WhatsApp-based tool has yielded valuable insights that can inform future digital advocacy initiatives. The effectiveness of digital advocacy tools depends significantly on how well they respond to local contexts, languages, and specific misinformation challenges. Our multi-country approach demonstrated that while digital platforms may be global, advocacy strategies must be locally grounded.
Our research confirmed that simply providing correct information is insufficient—digital advocacy tools must create pathways for users to act on their knowledge. The inclusion of action components transforms users from passive recipients to active participants in advancing SRHR narratives. By leveraging WhatsApp—a platform already embedded in users’ daily communications—we’ve found that advocacy tools can reach audiences where they already are, reducing barriers to engagement. The “Neighbourhood Fact-Checker” persona further enhances accessibility and trust.
Our phased research approach, involving desk research, partner consultations, and user interviews, ensured that diverse perspectives informed tool development. This multi-stakeholder engagement was essential for creating a solution that responds to real needs rather than assumed ones. As digital platforms continue to shape public discourse around SRHR issues, innovative approaches like this WhatsApp-based tool represent important opportunities for advancing rights-based narratives. By combining fact-checking capabilities with action opportunities, we’re working to transform how communities engage with SRHR information and advocacy.