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WhatsApp tries to fight India’s Fake News problem, takes out full page newspaper ads

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Days after government apprised it of the violence sparked by rumours spread over its instant messaging platform, WhatsApp, which had promised to take what steps it can to tackle the spread of misinformation, published advertisements in newspapers giving out “easy tips” that can help users decide if “something sent to you on WhatsApp is true.”

This is its first such effort to combat a flurry of false incendiary messages that prompted mob beatings and killings in WhatsApp’s biggest market with more than 200 million users. Around 30 persons have been killed in mob lynching incidents across the country over fake child-lifting rumours alone.

“This morning we are starting an education campaign in India on how to spot fake news and rumours. Our first step is placing newspaper advertisements across the country in English, Hindi, and several other languages. We will build on these efforts going forward,” a WhatsApp spokesperson said in an emailed response.

The US-based company said technology companies, the government and community groups need to work together to fight fake news and make people aware of information received that is not the truth.

WhatsApp has been taking several measures to ensure its platform isn’t used as a tool to mobilise mobs, said media reports. One such feature, set to roll out this week, distinguishes messages that have been forwarded. The company will highlight messages to help users understand that it has not been originally typed out.

WhatsApp has also advised users to double check facts when not sure who wrote the original message. This has been a serious problem in India, with users not only swallowing whole any motivated and false propaganda they receive but also forwarding it to others. Many stubbornly persist with this tendency, despite being informed that the posts are fake.

WhatsApp had 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 rumour from someone else.”

In a list of other “easy tips”, the company has suggested looking for other sources of the same information — such as news websites — leaving groups to control what you read, questioning information that may upset you, and looking for signs — such as spelling mistakes or unusual characters — to know that the information is not accurate.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1531226129514{border-top-width: 10px !important;border-right-width: 10px !important;border-bottom-width: 10px !important;border-left-width: 10px !important;padding-top: 10px !important;padding-right: 10px !important;padding-bottom: 10px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;background-color: #dbdbdb !important;border-radius: 10px !important;}”]The fake news peddlers, however, made use of this to churn out another bit of misinformation that went viral. It talks about a new security feature in which the government can also read your messages. It came with this image:New feature of WhatsApp.

The message says if there are three blue ticks in the message you sent, it means that the government has read your messages and found it to be okay. But if you get two blue ticks and a red tick it means that the government has read the message and the police will arrest you soon.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]WhatsApp’s advertisement in Indian newspapers comes in the wake of recent mob violence across the country fuelled by rumours of child lifters on social media platforms. The government, in a recent letter to the company, urged its management to take action against misinformation circulating on its platform in India. IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, conveying the government’s “deep disapproval” called for “necessary remedial measures” and “immediate action” to curb the flow of unverified information.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1531226453324{border-top-width: 10px !important;border-right-width: 10px !important;border-bottom-width: 10px !important;border-left-width: 10px !important;padding-top: 10px !important;padding-right: 10px !important;padding-bottom: 10px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;background-color: #d1d1d1 !important;border-radius: 10px !important;}”]WhatsApp listed “some easy tips” to help decide if something sent on WhatsApp is true. It said:

01) Understand when a message is forwarded:

Starting this week, we’re rolling out a new feature that lets you see which messages have been forwarded. Double check the facts when you’re not sure who wrote the original message.

02) Question information that upsets you:

If you read something that makes you angry or afraid, ask whether it was shared to make you feel that way. And if the answer is yes, think twice before sharing it again.

03) Check information that seems unbelievable:

Stories that seem hard to believe are often untrue – so check elsewhere to see if they are really true.

04) Look out for messages that look different:

Many messages containing hoaxes or fakenews have spelling mistakes. Look for these signs so you can check if the information is accurate.

05) Check photos in messages carefully:

It is easier to believe photos and videos, but even these can be edited to mislead you. Sometimes the photo is real, but the story around it is not. So look online to see where the photo came from.

06) And check links too:

It may look like the link to a well-known website but if there are spelling mistakes or unusual characters, it’s usually a sign something’s wrong.

07) Use other sources:

Look at other news websites or apps to see if the story is being reported elsewhere. When astory is reported in multiple places, it’s more likely to be true.

08) Be thoughtful about what you share:

If you are not sure of the source or concerned that the information maybe untrue, think twice before sharing.

09) You can control what you see:

On WhatsApp you can block any number or leave any group you want. Use these features to keep control of your WhatsApp experience.

10) Fake news often goes viral:

Do not pay attention to the number of times you receive the message. Just because a message is shared many times, does not make it true.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

India News

BJP calls Arvind Kejriwal’s resignation announcement a PR stunt, says he wants his wife as CM

“The emotional and PR cards that he is playing is aimed at creating a Manmohan Singh-like system in Delhi as former Congress president Sonia Gandhi did,” the BJP leader charged.

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The BJP on Sunday called the announcement of resignation of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the next two or three days a PR stunt saying his decision is a part of his plan to make his wife Sunita the CM.

BJP national spokesperson Shezad Poonwalla claimed that Kejriwal is enacting the resignation drama because the court did not acquit him in the excise policy scam case and instead granted him a conditional bail, which turned him into a ceremonial minister from the chief minister.

The AAP national convenor on Sunday announced that he will he resign as the Delhi CM in next two days and would demand early polls in Delhi. Kejriwal vowed not to sit in CM’s chair till people give him a certificate of honesty.

In a scathing attack, Poonwalla alleged that the AAP national convenor’s announcement is a part of his plan to make his wife Sunita Kejriwal the Chief Minister. “Arvind Kejriwal has done a PhD on how to make a virtue out of necessity,” he added.

While addressing party workers in Delhi today, Kejriwal said he would hold a meeting of AAP MLAs in the next couple of days and a party leader would take over as chief minister.

Hitting out at the Delhi Chief Minister, Poonwalla said, “He has taken two days’ time because his entire plan is to make his wife Sunita Kejriwal chief minister of Delhi in his place.”

“The emotional and PR cards that he is playing is aimed at creating a Manmohan Singh-like system in Delhi as former Congress president Sonia Gandhi did,” the BJP leader charged.

In the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls, people ensured the defeat of the AAP and the Congress in all seven seats despite the Kejriwal-led party’s ‘jail ka badla vote campaign’, he added.

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India News

In Jharkhand, PM Modi says development of tribals, poor, youth, women is Centre’s priority

He emphasised the significance of rail and other projects in fostering industrial, tourist, economic, and overall developmental growth in the eastern region.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday asserted the central government’s commitment to the development of tribals, poor, Dalits, women, and youths, highlighting the launch of several schemes aimed at benefiting these groups.

He expressed optimism about Jharkhand’s rapid growth through the implementation of these projects, noting that the state, which had been lagging in development, is now set to progress.

While virtually addressing the audience gathered at Tatanagar for the inauguration of Vande Bharat trains and multiple initiatives, the Prime Minister acknowledged the impact of the bad weather which prevented his arrival in Tatanagar by apologizing for not being able to reach the location.

He emphasised the significance of rail and other projects in fostering industrial, tourist, economic, and overall developmental growth in the eastern region.

Modi highlighted the increased investment by the Centre for the development of Jharkhand, citing an allocation of Rs 7,000 crore for railway infrastructure development, which marked a 16-fold increase compared to the budget of the past 10 years.

Furthermore, he pointed out that Jharkhand has achieved 100% electrification of its railway network and mentioned the transformation of over 50 railway stations in the state under the Amrit Bharat Station Yojana.

Additionally, six Vande Bharat trains for Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh were virtually flagged off by the Prime Minister at Ranchi, with the presence of Union ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Annapurna Devi, Sanjay Seth, and Jharkhand Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar at the Tatanagar station.

Meanwhile, Congress slammed PM Modi and said, “Why are people of Jamshedpur still facing the problem of poor connectivity?” Despite being an industrial hub, Jamshedpur suffers from poor transport connectivity, it added.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said that the number of trains running to major cities like Bhagalpur, Bengaluru and Delhi is not adequate. The city had a functional airport till 2016 but despite joining the UDAN scheme in 2018, the plan for a new airport did not materialise, he added.

“An MoU was signed between the Jharkhand government and the Airports Authority of India in January 2019 to build the Dhalbhumgarh airport by December 2022. This will give a good boost to MSMEs in Adityapur, including major players in the industrial sector like Tata. When the work did not happen by the December 2022 deadline, the BJP’s own MPs were forced to raise the issue in Parliament,” he charged.

On February 27, 2023, the Union Civil Aviation Minister responded and confirmed that the project had been abandoned, Ramesh said. “Now, after a lot of hard work, environmental clearances seem to be coming. Why did the central government ignore such a vital infrastructure in Jharkhand? What happened to “Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas”?” he asked.

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India News

After Kejriwal, AAP leader Manish Sisodia leaves it to people to decide on his honesty

The former Delhi Deputy CM Sisodia said that he has also decided to go to the public court along with AAP supremo Kejriwal and ask whether the public considers him honest or not.

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After Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia on Sunday asserted that he will sit on the chair of Deputy Chief Minister only if the public approves his honesty.

The former Delhi Deputy CM Sisodia said that he has also decided to go to the public court along with AAP supremo Kejriwal and ask whether the public considers him honest or not.

“I have also decided that I will go to the public court along with Arvind Kejriwal ji and ask whether the public considers me honest or not,” Sisodia said in his post on X.

In a major move on Sunday, Kejriwal announced that he will resign as the Delhi Chief Minister in the next two or three days and asserted that he won’t hold the position of CM, until the people of Delhi declare him honest.

Joining AAP supremo in his honesty test, Sisodia said that he came into politics to work honestly in the field of education. “For 10 years, I worked honestly as Delhi’s Education Minister and built schools and new universities,” Sisodia said.

As the Education Minister of Delhi, Sisodia said, he worked with the mantra that India cannot become a developed nation without providing the best education in government schools.

The result of ten years of hard work is visible that today even in the government schools of Delhi, children are studying brilliantly and topping exams like IIT, JEE, NEET, the senior AAP leader said.

After being in jail for 17 months in the money laundering case linked to the liquor policy scam, Sisodia said that despite being honest attempts were made to prove him dishonest by making false allegations against him under petty politics.

“After two years of legal process, now even the country’s top court has told me to go and do my work. But I will not sit on the chair of Deputy Chief Minister-Education Minister right now”, he said.

The AAP leader said that he did not join politics for the greed of chairs and posts, instead, he came into politics to work honestly in the field of education.

“Elections are to be held in three to four months. Only if the public approves my honesty, I will sit on the chair of Deputy Chief Minister-Education Minister and work for education,” AAP leader Sisodia said.

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