Amazon Canada offers a new free tier of its music streaming service

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Amazon will allow Canadians with Alexa-enabled smart speakers to listen to music for free. These users won't even need to have Amazon Prime or Amazon Music accounts to use the feature. But, of course, this new free tier comes with a few caveats. Similar to Spotify's free tier, you can only listen to ad-supported playlists and song-based stations. You won't get to choose songs to listen to, but if you're okay with listening to Amazon-curated playlists, then this option should work out fine for you. As MobileSyrup pointed out, you can also link Spotify to the same Alexa account, so you get access to even more songs if you want.

Justin and Hailey Bieber now have a reality show on Facebook Watch

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If you were curious about the life of celebrity couple Justin and Hailey Bieber, then their new show on Facebook Watch might be something you'll want to check out. The Biebers on Watch premiered on Monday, May 4, at 9 a.m. PT exclusively on Facebook's platform. It's a 12-episode series that will be available on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, with Facebook Live session on Fridays. The couple will bring fans into their home and their married life through conversations and hangouts with friends and family. The show is shot using GoPro cameras positioned around the Biebers' home near Toronto as well as with some segments shot by the couple.

With Justin and Hailey both having big social media followings, it might draw more people to check out Facebook Watch and its offerings on the platform. The Biebers on Watch comes a few months after Justin's original YouTube docuseries Justin Bieber: Seasons, which focused on his first new album in over four years called Changes. It set the record of most-watched YouTube original in the first week of release. Facebook might be hoping to draw an audience with this new show.

Source: Variety

Poynter Institute's new WhatsApp chatbot helps debunk COVID-19 hoaxes

Here's one debunked hoax from Poynter's WhatsApp chatbot

Poynter Institute, a non-profit organization that supports journalism, recently introduced a new chatbot on WhatsApp to debunk thousands of hoaxes about COVID-19. The bot relies on information from over 100 independent fact-checkers in over 70 countries, making it the largest database to debunk falsehoods about the pandemic (at least according to Poynter). At the moment, it is only available in English, but support for languages like Spanish, Hindi, and Portuguese is in the works.

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Ontario govt. extends virtual mental health services during COVID-19

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The Ontario government hopes to help out those experiencing anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic with access to virtual mental health services. The provincial government committed a $12 million fund to allow relevant agencies to hire and train more staff, obtain the equipment they need, as well as support the improvement of virtual support offered. 

They're rolling out an internet-based Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (iCBT) programs to allow people to find the support they need. The initiative was developed with MindBeacon and Morneau Shepell and is supported by therapists. It's available in English and French, and it comes at no extra cost for Ontarians.

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