Mob attacks: WhatsApp urged to curb gossip

NEW DELHI: India’s government says it has asked WhatsApp to take “immediate action” to prevent the social media platform from being misused to spread rumours and irresponsible statements like those blamed for recent deadly mob attacks in the country.

At least 20 people have been killed in mostly rural villages in several Indian states in attacks by mobs that had been inflamed by social media. Victims were accused in the viral messages of belonging to gangs trying to abduct children. The brutal attacks, which began in early May, have also left dozens of people injured.

Although Indian authorities have clarified that there was no truth to the rumours and that the targeted people were innocent, the deadly and brutal attacks, often captured on cellphones and shared on social media, have spread across the nation.

India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said on Tuesday that the lynchings were tied to “irresponsible and explosive messages” circulated on WhatsApp. It wasn’t specific about the measures it expected to be taken by WhatsApp, owned by Facebook.

“While the law and order machinery is taking steps to apprehend the culprits, the abuse of platforms like WhatsApp for repeated circulation of such provocative content are equally a matter of deep concern,” the ministry said. It said WhatsApp “cannot evade accountability and responsibility”.

“The government has also conveyed in no uncertain terms that WhatsApp must take immediate action to end this menace and ensure that their platform is not used for such mala fide activities,” the statement said. “Deep disapproval of such developments has been conveyed to the senior management of WhatsApp, and they have been advised that necessary remedial measures should be taken to prevent proliferation of these fake and at times motivated and sensational messages.”

WhatsApp said in a blog post that it would institute awards for research on the “spread of misinformation” on its platform.