Digital Green Book Launched To Help Black Community Combat Online Misinformation

A new "Digital Green Book for the Culture" aims to help Black people navigate an internet riddled with misinformation.

Onyx Impact has introduced a digital Green Book designed to help the Black community navigate an internet filled with misinformation.

Launched earlier this month, We All We Got: A Digital Green Book for the Culture provides Black users with a platform to navigate the internet safely, protect their data, and access trustworthy news. The new-age Green Book was inspired by the original Green Book, which helped Black travelers find safe spaces during its 30-year run from 1936 to 1966.

This digital-era Green Book serves as a guide to navigating online manipulation and misinformation. Research shows that bots account for 42% of social media traffic, influencing conversations and algorithms—65% of them with harmful intent.

The Digital Green Book for the Culture eliminates barriers and directly addresses the fact that Black users encounter disinformation at a rate 2.7 times higher than the general population.

“The Digital Green Book for the Culture equips Black communities with tools, tactics, and resources to navigate a digital world that is often hostile,” Esosa Osa, founder of Onyx Impact, said in a press release. “Black folks deserve access to accurate, truthful information to make informed decisions and control our digital futures.”

The platform was designed with four key objectives: identifying online manipulation and misinformation, safeguarding Black children from harmful digital content, elevating Black-owned media and businesses, and promoting digital literacy to enhance critical thinking online.

“We are in an information war,” Esosa said. “If we knew almost half of online interactions weren’t real, we’d engage differently.”

The platform offers seamless parental controls, which help Black parents protect their children from racist content. Since misinformation disproportionately impacts those with low digital literacy, the Digital Green Book works to empower young people to serve as “digital navigators” in guiding their communities.

To stay ahead of the latest tech trends, the platform features an easily accessible website equipped with an AI fact-checking tool. Trained with Black-focused news sources, the AI helps users verify information instantly.

“Think of it as a guidebook combined with a Black ChatGPT,” Esosa said.

For those wanting to support the cause, Esosa encourages everyone to support local Black-owned businesses.

“If you subscribe to mainstream news but not a Black newspaper, start there. Investing in Black media protects our stories,” she said.