WhatsApp suggests ways to combat Fake News

In a world driven by information, misinformation can be a dangerous tool. A chilling example of this fact occurred in Chamarajpet, Bangalore on 24th May when an innocent job seeker was lynched to death by a Mob who suspected him to be a Kidnapper after a morphed video became viral showing child Kidnappers.It was actually an awareness video against child kidnapping.

Here is BBC's Coverage of the shocking news:

Today WhatsApp took out a full page advertisement in some of the leading dailies in India listing out ways to combat the malice of Fake News. Though most of the points listed out by them are common sense but common sense ironically, is the least common of senses. The use of the internet in India has spread faster and wider than a wildfire but technological literacy sadly, not so.

Here are the Points listed by WhatsApp:

1. Understand when a message is forwarded
   WhatsApp is now rolling out a new feature which lets users see when the messages have been forwarded.
2. Question Information that upsets you
   WhatsApp advises to think twice before forwarding Upsetting messages.
3. Check information that seems unbelievable
   Stories that seem hard to believe must be checked elsewhere.
4. Look out for Messages that look different
   Messages that with fake news generally have spelling mistakes.
5. Check Photos in messages carefully
   The photos and the accompanying messages are in many cases unrelated and sent together with an aim to mislead.
6. And check links too
   The links must be checked for spelling errors and unusual characters as these usually point to something not being right.
7. Use other source
   Other sources must be investigated to verify the truthfulness of the news.
8. Be thoughtful before you share
   WhatsApp advises not to share information whose source the users are unsure of.
9. You can control what you see
   Unwanted groups and users can easily be blocked on WhatsApp.
10. Fake news often goes viral
    The truthfulness of a message should not be judged by the number of times it is shared.
    

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