As mob lynchings fueled by WhatsApp messages sweep India, authorities struggle to combat fake news

according to ☰Asia & PacificAs mob lynchings fueled by WhatsApp messages sweep India, authorities struggle to combat fake newsA villager displays a false message shared on Facebook's WhatsApp service while attending an event to raise awareness about fake news in Balgera, India, on June 12. (Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg News)NEW DELHI —More than a dozen people have been killed across India since May in violence fueled primarily by fake social media messages, as officials struggle to rein in this growing technology-driven menace. In the latest such lynching, a mob killed five people Sunday after rumors spread on social media that they were trafficking children. Satish Bhaykre, 21, was beaten by a mob because of a fake WhatsApp text. In April, a circular from the Information and Broadcasting Ministry proposing stiff penalties for journalists who post fake news was pulled in less than 24 hours after an outcry.

WhatsApp COO Matthew Idema meets MeitY officials to discuss fake news issue

Following a threat by the government to take legal action over its inability to tackle the issue of fake news, a new report claims that top WhatsApp officials including the platform's COO Matthew Idema have met Ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) secretary Ajay Sawhney. The official, who seemed to be aware of the communication between MeitY and WhatsApp executives mentioned that the government wants WhatsApp to devise methods for identifying how such fake messages and content are being spread on its platform. The government has so far sent a couple of notices to WhatsApp this month, asking them to come up with sure-shot measures for tackling fake news at the source. WhatsApp meanwhile added a 'forwarded' tag feature to alert users about forwarded messages and also said that it will restrict the number of people a message can be forwarded to. The vastly popular chat platform is also reportedly working on a suspicious link detection feature.

WhatsApp is using newspapers to fight fake news in India

as informed in WhatsApp is using old media to tackle its misinformation problem in India. The messaging service, owned by Facebook (FB), took out full-page ads in leading English and Hindi newspapers on Tuesday, giving readers 10 tips to spot messages that might be fake. WhatsApp, which has more than 200 million users in India, is also rolling out several new features to stop the spread of fake rumors. One of those features — a service WhatsApp has been testing in India to label forwarded messages — was launched globally on Tuesday. Related: WhatsApp fights hoax messages in India after rumors led to killingsOther big tech firms around the world are also trying to combat misinformation, including Facebook.