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| Whatsapp has launched a hotline in India to flag rumours ahead of the upcoming election (AFP Photo/NICOLAS ASFOURI) |
New Delhi (AFP) - WhatsApp launched a hotline Tuesday allowing Indians to flag rumours circulating ahead of the upcoming election, a major concern in a country where fake news has fuelled violence.
It comes a
day after WhatsApp's parent company Facebook removed hundreds of pages
promoting India's ruling and opposition parties for violating rules around spam
and "coordinated inauthentic behaviour" online.
The spread
of viral fake videos and messages on social media platforms has proved
incendiary in India, where half a billion people are online but limited digital
literacy has helped rumours spread like wildfire.
As hundreds
of millions of Indians prepare to vote this month and next, experts say the
biggest election in history will also prove an immense misinformation
challenge.
Less than
two weeks before voting starts, WhatsApp has launched a "tipline" in
partnership with an Indian startup that it says will allow voters to submit
uncertain or suspicious content for verification.
Pictures,
video links and texts will be analysed and debunked if untrue in English and
four regional languages, the company said in a statement.
"This
combined effort by WhatsApp and industry organisations will help contribute to
the safety of the elections, by giving people means to know if the information
is verified and deter people from sharing rumors that have no basis in
fact," it said.
It follows
a major purge of Facebook accounts on Monday by the social media giant, with
hundreds of political pages spamming content supportive of the ruling Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress movement taken down.
Facebook
said nearly 700 of these were associated with Congress, whose leader Rahul
Gandhi is challenging Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the election. The party
said it was investigating the claims.
Another 15
pages shut down for spamming were promoting, among other themes, the BJP and
the alleged misconduct of its opponents, Facebook said. One belonged to a news
organisation, MyNation, owned by BJP lawmaker Rajeev Chandrasekhar, media
reports said.
These pages
were followed by 2.6 million users and "linked to individuals associated
with an Indian IT firm, Silver Touch", Facebook said.
The company
based in Modi's home state of Gujarat developed the premier's personal mobile
app and other government projects, Indian media reported.
The
WhatsApp tipline follows other security measures taken by the firm in India,
its largest global market with 200 million users.
WhatsApp
restricted message forwarding in India last year and ran newspaper adverts to
counter fake news after a spate of mob killings sparked by hoaxes spread on its
messaging service.
In the lead
up to the election, YouTube last month said it would start flagging dubious
content in news-related videos in India. Its parent company Google is training
Indian journalists in verification techniques and boosting stringency over
election advertising.
Facebook
has also said itwas running its biggest ever election monitoring campaign, with
adverts and announcements to help people spot misinformation. It is also
working with Indian newsrooms to make false posts less visible.
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