India: Google engineer latest victim of mob lynchings fueled by WhatsApp rumors

Re:India: Google engineer latest victim of mob lynchings fue... by shreyanshd on Sunday July 15, 2018 @08:43AM (#17535007)

Indian here. Based on my observations, in India, the ‘whatsapp group’ feature has become a medium for spreading fake news, political propaganda, religious propaganda, pornography and other such activities that have a negative impact at a massive scale. Whatsapp is the most prominent messaging service in India, and though the ‘groups’ feature has many positive usecases, its mainly used for influencing the (huge) illiterate population of the country. IMO, Whatsapp should step in, and temporarily turn off the groups feature in India ASAP, atleast until the deaths due to such fake news have stopped completely.

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Re:India: Google engineer latest victim of mob lynchings fue... by calvinbhai on Sunday July 15, 2018 @11:27AM (#17535618)

Indian here.

"until deaths due to fake news have stopped completely" will/should never happen.

You are asking for censorship by state. Not sure how/why anyone would ask for such a measure, instead of asking the responsible state govts in India to improve the Law and Order situation.

When there's is a hint of crime or a need for medical attention, in the US, first thing a person thinks of is calling 911.

In India, first thing a person thinks of is, how he/she can address the situation, because <insert emergency service here> will never reach on time nor be of any help.

Most riots in India flame up due to false news. Whatsapp is just a medium that is super efficient in spreading such false news.

Dont shoot the Messenger/Whatsapp etc. Ask for better reforms!

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Re:India: Google engineer latest victim of mob lynchings fue... by ryanlol on Sunday July 15, 2018 @08:51AM (#17535026)

>has become a medium for spreading fake news, political propaganda, religious propaganda, pornography and other such activities that have a negative impact at a massive scale

One of these is not like the others.

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Re:India: Google engineer latest victim of mob lynchings fue... by xkcdefgh on Sunday July 15, 2018 @10:40AM (#17535424)

maybe he meant illegal pornography. I've witnessed whatsapp groups where people share secret cam vids which were most likely taken without consent.

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