Courtesy of Martiza Félix

Maritza Félix launched Conecta Arizona to help Spanish-speaking families in Arizona and Sonora access reliable news and resources during the coronavirus pandemic.

Conecta Arizona launched Monday as a new way for Spanish speaking families to access up-to-date news about the coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s extremely simple, and that’s its magic, that it’s extremely simple," said Maritza Félix, the Phoenix-based journalist who started the project. "It’s just a WhatsApp group to provide news and resources for Spanish speaking families in Arizona and Sonora.”

Félix started Conecta Arizona to combat the spread of misinformation about the pandemic by sharing reliable Spanish-language news on platforms people are already using, namely the popular phone messaging application WhatsApp.

"That’s where we noticed most of the misinformation was coming from," she said. "That’s why we want to combat that, fight that misinformation on the same channel that it’s spreading.”

Conecta Arizona also shares news and information about local resources on social media and offers a daily “Coffee Time” where experts answer users’ questions related to the pandemic.

Félix launched the project through a fellowship with the nonprofit Listening Post Collective and Feet In 2 Worlds.

New participants can get information from Conecta Arizona by sending a WhatsApp message to 602-775-8989.

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