WhatsApp exacerbated in the world, the rules to prevent the spread of Fake News. In India, the measure has been in place since the summer, after it came to Lynching. Did it help?
India has a massive Problem with false reports. Entire villages were caught in the last summer, suddenly in a panic. On a Video that had been forwarded to residents via WhatsApp, suspected child kidnapper. Every Stranger seemed suddenly to be a potential Kidnapper. Because of false news covered the inhabitants of the village were wasting around 20 men.
Cheap Smartphones in India for a large part of the country’s population, the first and only connection to the Internet. Rumors or news? This is different for people, says Cyber expert Pawan Duggal. “In India, there are an incredible number of people that are uneducated. Do you have a Smartphone, but you can hardly read. Then you can see such Videos on their own mobile phone for WhatsApp. This leads to mass hysteria, or just murders in the country.”
country wide awareness-raising campaigns
all over The country, has triggered huge debates. WhatsApp has been in India as many Users as nowhere else in the world. The Messenger service had to react, to get out of the negative headlines, and has restricted after the murders, the fast forwarding of messages. Even now, on every message that comes from directly from a contact person in the own Smartphone, the source was someone else. Who, remains unknown.
WhatsApp country switches-wide awareness campaigns. The message is always the same: First, we see how the Messenger service connects us with our Loved ones – and all of a sudden fake news on scuba diving. Someone from the group of friends or family, responding quickly, and explains to all that such messages should not be believed and should, therefore, also more.
