A British news website, Evening Standard, reported that a survey’s result showed that India has more fake news and internet hoaxes than anywhere else in the world.
The report, by Microsoft, found 64 per cent of Indians had encountered fake news, compared to the global average of 57 per cent.
Meanwhile, 54 per cent had come across internet hoaxes, in comparison to 50 per cent worldwide.
Internet hoaxes in particular have had murderous consequences in India. The Standard reported how more than 40 people were killed in the country last year amid a plague of smartphone-fuelled mob murders by ordinary citizens.
The report, by Microsoft, found 64 per cent of Indians had encountered fake news, compared to the global average of 57 per cent.
Experts said fake WhatsApp warnings about child abductors would whip up fear in communities, leading to brutal lynchings.
It led to WhatsApp enforcing new rules which limited the number of times messages could be forwarded to new people.
It is worth mentioning, in the wake of recent escalation between India and Pakistan, the Indian media only added fuel to the flames.
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A renowned Indian journalist Ravish Kumar told a German TV channel that media personnel in India are being pressurised to conform to the official narrative of hate-mongering against Pakistan and those who did not comply had faced public ridicule on social media.
He said the Indian media were not reporting on the Pakistan-India conflict as much as they were using the conflict as an excuse to build up the ruling party’s electoral prospects in the upcoming general elections.
He said that the intention of this warmongering was to polarise people and consolidate votes.
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