Mob lynching: India government reportedly unhappy with WhatsApp's reply

The Indian government is reportedly unhappy with messaging platform WhatsApp's response to its warning to curb the spread of rumours, which has led to mob lynchings in several parts of the country.

According to an ET report, the government has set up an internal group of officers to examine the possibility of sending a second notice. The group has been told to identify specific technical measures that WhatsApp can implement to prevent the spread of fake news.

In response to the government's first notice, WhatsApp launched advertisement campaigns with the aim to educate public to spot fake news.

The messaging platform also said it was also “horrified by these terrible acts of violence.”

“We believe this is a challenge that requires government, civil society and technology companies to work together,” said WhatsApp.

The Indian government is of the view that if WhatsApp can locate specific groups and target audiences for advertisement purposes, then it should use the same methods to identify groups that start fake news, reported ET.

WhatsApp is also testing out a new feature that would prevent the spread of fake news. Elaborating on this, WhatsApp said: “We have been testing a new label in India that highlights when a message has been forwarded versus composed by the sender. This could serve as an important signal for recipients to think twice before forwarding messages because it lets a user know if content they received was written by the person they know or a potential rumor from someone else. We plan to launch this new feature soon.”