[ad_1]
News and research before hearing about CNBC and others. Claim your free 2-week trial at StreetInsider Premium here
MUMBAI (Reuters) – India has asked WhatsApp Messenger of Facebook Inc. to take steps to prevent the spread of fake texts and provocative content has led to a series of lynchings and crowd beats across the country in recent months.
With over 200 million users in India, the largest WhatsApp market in the world, fake news and videos are circulating on the messaging app. uncomfortable for the social media giant Facebook, already struggling with a privacy scandal
So far this year, fake messages about kidnappers on WhatsApp have contributed to hit more than a dozen people in India – including at least three dead.
In addition, five people were beaten to death by a mob Sunday in a new lynch mob incident in the state of Maharashtra, in western India, because "there is no one in the world. they were suspected of being kidnappers
. The WhatsApp management has been informed that the necessary corrective measures should be taken, "the Indian Ministry of Information Technologies said Tuesday in a well-worded statement.
The ministry said the police authorities were taking action. measures to apprehend the culprits, the massacres, but the repeated flow of fake messages on WhatsApp was also a matter of deep concern.
He also stated that the messaging platform "can not escape responsibility and responsibility "when users abuse this information.) The government has also conveyed in no uncertain terms that WhatsApp must take immediate steps to put an end to this threat and ensure that their platform is not used for such a WhatsApp malafi said that he did not want the platform to be used to spread misinformation , adding that spreading fake messages was a challenge that businesses and society should face.
researchers explore issues related to misinformation and share their proposals with the courier, its parent Facebook, academics and policy makers.
Facebook did not respond to a request for comment on the government's statement. educate users to identify false news as well as consider changes to the service. For example, there is now a public beta test that identifies any forwarded message. Last week, he also introduced a new setting that only allowed administrators or group owners to send messages
(Report by Sankalp Phartiyal, edited by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
[ad_2]
Source link
