The Social media sees tons of fake news circulating daily however, the number multiplies with the elections coming up to raise fake propaganda. Time and again, the Social Media platforms have taken steps to curb the circulation of such hoax messages. Recently, WhatsApp launched a new tip line ahead of the 2019 Indian Lok Sabha elections The tip line can be reached on WhatsApp at +919643000888, which can be used by any WhatsApp user under any suspicion of a piece of news of any kind i.e. articles, videos or photos that seem fake or manipulative in nature. The service will be reportedly available for all content forms, with English, Bengali, Hindi, Malayalam and Telugu being the five supported languages as of now.
As told, once the piece of news will be reported PROTO, the software and security firm Checkpoint will independently use its technologies to check for the authenticity of the content. Whatsapp’s decision comes in line with Facebook’s decision to roll out a fake news filter two years ago, wherein it added an option for users to report suspicious articles to reduce the circulation of fake news on its platform while taking down content that attempts to spread propaganda.
Meanwhile, Vernacular language social media, ShareChat too has associated with an organisation, NewsCheck, with the same aim.
The Election Commission had recently pulled up the social media services with significant presence in India, urging them to assume greater responsibility against violation of services.