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After lynching spree in India, WhatsApp offers tips to spot fake news

Agencies
July 10, 2018

New Delhi, Jul 10: WhatsApp took out full-page advertisements in Indian newspapers on Tuesday offering "easy tips" to identify fact from fiction after a slew of recent murders spurred by hoaxes shared on its platform.

The Facebook-owned messaging service has been under immense pressure to curb the spread of misinformation in India after the lynching of more than 20 people accused of child abduction in the last two months.

Most recently a mob surrounded and killed five men in Maharashtra state denounced as child kidnappers, a pernicious rumour blamed for similar murders in at least 11 Indian states.

WhatsApp said it was "horrified" by the violence and promised swift action but Indian authorities have accused the social media giant of acting irresponsibly in its largest market.

The slick adverts in leading English and Hindi language newspapers, entitled "together we can fight false information", listed 10 tips for users seeking to sort truth from rumour.

"Do not pay attention to the number of times you receive the message. Just because a message is shared many times, does not make it true," offer one of the tidbits of advice.

It also suggested users cross-check information against reputable news sources and not share the messages further if they doubt their authenticity.

WhatsApp will soon launch a new feature on its platform in India that will clearly identify whether a message has been forwarded or written by the user.

Indian officials said the company could not "evade accountability and responsibility".

WhatsApp has said it can block spam but cannot read the content of messages for privacy reasons, including potentially problematic content spreading in user chats.

Rumours on WhatsApp about child kidnappers saw eight men killed in eastern Indian last year but the same information has since resurfaced.

Spam messages warning parents about child kidnapping gangs have sprung up in multiple regional languages in India in recent months, sometimes accompanied by gruesome videos of child abuse.

Police in several states have denied the existence of such criminal groups.

India is WhatsApp's largest market, with an estimated 200 million users sending a billion encrypted messages each day.

Comments

Suresh
 - 
Tuesday, 10 Jul 2018

People + GOvt + Whatsapp initiative must for controling fake news

Farooq
 - 
Tuesday, 10 Jul 2018

How whatsapp and govt can control such fake news..! continously monitoring personal data+messages..? 

Kumar
 - 
Tuesday, 10 Jul 2018

If people dont want to share such things, they wouldnt do before also. People want to make controversies and issues. So they are sharing. Legal action should take

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News Network
February 26,2020

Bengaluru, Feb 26: The police remand of student activist Amulya Leona Noronha, who was produced before a Magistrate, after a no-show at the Metropolitan Magistrate Court, was extended by 10 more days.

The Fifth Additional Metropolitan Magistrate at the Magistrate's home on Tuesday night had remanded her to police custody for 10 days, less than the 14 days asked for by the Special Investigative Team, considering that she has already spent over four days in judicial custody.

Amulya Noronha, a student of NMKRV College for Women, had raised pro-Pakistan slogans by shouting ''Pakistan Zindabad'' at an anti-CAA protest in Bangalore on 20th February following which the city police filed a case of sedition against her.

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News Network
March 23,2020

Mangaluru, Mar 23: In its efforts to contain the outbreak of COVID-19, the district administration has ordered that all shops and establishments selling essential commodities to remain open only between 0600 hrs and 1200 hrs from Tuesday till March 31.

Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner Sindhu B Rupesh, in a press release here, announced that autorickshaws and taxis should not ferry passengers and should be utilised only during emergencies and for transportation of essential commodities among others.

Ms Sindhu has also ordered shutting down industries. Only those industries involved in the production of essential commodities, medicines, medical instruments, medicine, fuel, farm produce among others had been exempted, Please log in to get detailed story.

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coastaldigest.com news network
July 22,2020

Kasaragod, Jul 22: An accused in a POCSO case jumped into the sea at Kasaba Coast near here on Wednesday.

Sources said the accused Mahesh (28), resident of Soorlu Kanhangad, was brought to the groyne ('pulimuttu' in Malayalam) at the coast for collecting evidence.

He escaped from the police and ran around 200 meters towards the sea and jumped into it. The effort to rescue him also failed.

Police, Fire & Rescue officials and fishermen are searching for the body of the accused.

Mahesh was arrested on charge of capturing the video of a minor girl in a washroom on his mobile. 

During interrogation, he had told the copse that he had hidden the mobile, which was used to video record the act, near the groyne. Accordingly, the police had brought him to this place.

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