sites created forums where communities could share news, updates, and call for assistance. 41 Social media platforms were utilized to track disease progression and gauge community knowledge about infectious diseases. Analyzing social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter gave researchers useful information about community demographics, disease spread, and state of Ebola treatment centre facilities. 41 Twitter specifically conveyed accurate information about the disease; one retrospective analysis suggested that most information on social media came from mainstream news agencies, which generally report information from public health agencies.72 Social media platforms also provided channels for misinformation. Anecdotal evidence suggests that Twitter might have played a role in Nigeria’s efforts to control Ebola at the outset of the 2014 Ebola outbreak, but the World Health Organization (WHO) noted rumors circulating on social media claiming that certain products or practices could prevent or cure Ebola virus disease.70 One study of English-language tweets found that 55% of those messages from Guinea, Liberia, and Nigeria during September 1–7, 2014, using the terms “Ebola” and “prevention” or “cure” contained at least some medical misinformation. Yet this is consistent with past experience; one analysis estimated misinformation at only 2%, consistent with similar analyses for H1N1.72 Rural communities without access to digital platforms did not similarly benefit. Community engagement to facilitate data sharing was implemented during the West Africa Ebola outbreak.37 While community engagement was in some was successful, it revealed the need for ongoing community engagement to be fully prepared for future outbreaks.38 One implementation of community engagement was five-step social mobilization project conducted by Community Engagement and Accountability (CEA), a Red cross affiliate.38 CEA worked to inform communities about Ebola, and used surveys to track changes in knowledge, behaviors and attitudes. 38 Retrospective analyses do suggest that as a result of community engagement efforts, knowledge regarding Ebola and Ebola transmission rose significantly from the beginning to the end of the campaign, although the effect on behaviors showed an uncertain relationship. 38 Public information campaigns were the main source of community engagement during the West Africa Ebola outbreak. The sources of information were varied, ranging from radio and television, to church services and community meetings.3 Researchers also relied on word-ofmouth among the members of the community to help spread information about Ebola.37 Community artists and musicians also helped raise awareness of Ebola.37 The Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars recorded a song about Ebola, and Liberian hip-hop artist Shadow released Ebola in Town, an informative song describing tips for Ebola prevention.46 A radio talk show was developed for six community radio stations including health messages related to causes, management, and prevention of EVD.69 Radio was found to be “the most important method of transmitting messages” to remote locations in Liberia in a short period of time.69 19 c. Fast tracking of Ebola related publications by some scientific journals Over the course of the outbreak, high impact journals adopted expedited review processes for relevant data including the New England Journal of Medicine, BMJ, and the Lancet. 73,74,75 The World Health Organization has recommended that more journals streamline publishing and expedite the peer review process during public health emergencies.14 d. Data Sharing Platforms Relatedly, data sharing platforms emerged, although they went largely unused or became “data dumpsters.” During the Ebola outbreak, researchers unaffiliated with official response efforts translated surveillance reports into machine-readable formats and shared them in public repositories. 77 Some teams assisting the response rapidly deposited Ebola virus genetic sequences into public databases like Genbank. 24 These efforts appeared to work in some specific contexts—80% of peer-reviewed epidemiological modeling studies published during the outbreak used only open data – but not in others, like clinical trial data for therapeutics including convalescent plasma. 13 On July 15, 2014, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced the development of the Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX). HDX was intended as “a new data sharing platform that encompasses the best standards in data collection, offering access to useful and accurate data.”80 HDX allows users to track and follow specific data sets, create curated organization data hubs, and share data across previously siloed organizations working to improve humanitarian efforts around the world. At its launch, HDX held around 1,600 files, covering a range of regions and humanitarian concerns. By late 2014, the original 1,600 files on the platform were significantly increased in number, mostly with the addition of regional data – from Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia – drawn from WHO. WHO fed data into the platform on the number of Ebola cases and fatalities, the locations of cases, the amount of money being spent on the crisis, as well as information on Ebola Treatment Centres