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
January 4,2020

Mangalore, Jan 4: Writer-Researcher Dr Indira Heggade has been elected as the president of Mangaluru Taluk Sahitya Sammelan, which will be held on January 29 at St Agnes College in the City.

Dr Indira Heggade has brought out three stories, four novels and one poetry. She co-wrote 'Guttininda Sainika Jagattige' with SR Heggade.

Also, she translated 'Bantaru Vandu Samajo Samskrutika Adhyana' into English.

She is the recipient of various award given by literary and cultural organisations of Karnataka, including Janapada Academy Award, and Rani Abbakka Award.

Indira Heggade, along with receiving several awards in foreign nations, honoured with Sahitya Academy Award, Kamana Rangaswamy Dattinidhi Awards.

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coastaldigest.com news network
January 23,2020

Bengaluru, Jan 23: Expressing shock over the blast which left him and his supporters injured yesterday, Shantinagar MLA NA Haris today said that the incident cannot be brushed aside as a firecracker blast and appealed to the state government to inquire into the incident.

Recovering from the injuries sustained on his leg, Haris was discharged from St Philomena's Hospital on Thursday afternoon. 

Interacting with mediapersons outside his residence in Shantinagar, Haris said, “It wasn’t a cracker but a ball-like object that was hurled at me. Since my childhood, I have been seeing crackers and the object that was thrown at me was certainly not a cracker. It had splinters and hard objects.”

He said, “I have been representing the constituency for over 12-years and had no rivalry with anyone. Barring political ideology during elections, all the leaders in our constituency have been cooperative with each other. Yet, we do not know what the intention was or who was behind the incident.”

Revealing that home minister Basavaraj Bommai had called him to enquire about his condition at the hospital Haris said, “I have also briefed the home minister and explained to him what exactly happened. I have full faith in the police and will cooperate with the police during the investigation.” Haris said that doctors have advised him three to four-days of rest.

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News Network
March 14,2020

Udupi, Mar 14: Amidst growing Coronavirus scare, a youth with suspected Coronavirus symptoms was admitted to Udupi District Hospital here, District Health and Family Welfare Officer Sudhir Chandrachud said.

According to him, A 37-year-old youth, a native of Shirwa, who works in a Japanese ship and was onboard a Japanese vessel that was recently blocked due to the coronavirus. However, he was left out on its way to Dubai, where he was diagnosed with coronavirus infection and he returned to his native.

However, he did not show any of the primary symptoms of coronavirus, such as cough, cold, fever, but he was suffering from diarrhea and abdominal pain with slight respiratory problems following which he has been admitted to an isolated ward in the district hospital here on Friday evening.

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