WhatsApp to Educate Indian Users About The Dangers of Fake News

After being asked by the central government to take steps to end the spread of disinformation on its platform, WhatsApp on Wednesday roped in New Delhi-based non-profit Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF) to create awareness among its users about the demand to verify data.

"Our goal is to help keep people prophylactic by creating greater sensation about fake news and empowering users to assist limit its spread," Ben Supple, Public Policy Manager at WhatsApp, said in a statement.

In a meeting with WhatsApp CEO Chris Daniels on August 21, Spousal relationship IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad instructed the Facebook-owned platform to comply with the constabulary of the land and take "suitable" steps to prevent its misuse.

The meeting took place after several lynching incidents were linked to the spread of misinformation on the instant messaging platform which has over 200 meg monthly active users in Bharat.

As part of the new partnership with WhatsApp, DEF has committed to holding xl training sessions for community leaders in x states across the country where in that location have been worrisome cases of violence and where in that location will be state polls before the end of the twelvemonth.

DEF said it would aid brainwash authorities officials, assistants representatives, civil society organizations and students to spread the word about this challenge.

The training is expected to enable WhatsApp users to differentiate between opinions and facts, and to inculcate a habit of verifying information through simple checks earlier forwarding it to their friends and family.

In addition, DEF said it would comprise this new preparation as function of their network of over 30,000 grassroots community members in seven states.

"Nosotros at WhatsApp and DEF promise these grooming workshops will help build an empathetic and conscious customs of WhatsApp users who learn to respond rather than react to every message they receive," said Osama Manzar, Founder-Director of DEF.

WhatsApp has already taken several technological measures to curb the problem of disinformation, including the introduction of the "forwarded" tag and limiting forwarding to five chats at once.

"In add-on to the steps we are taking within WhatsApp, we believe impacting lives through the power of education is disquisitional to helping attain the vision of a 'Digital India'," Supple added.