Virtually Islamic Blog

Gary R. Bunt

'Fake News', WhatsApp and India

Wired, How WhatsApp Fuels Fake News and Violence in India

"Plummeting data prices and cheap, 4G-enabled smartphones—as well as “feature phones” like the $43 JioPhone 2, launched this summer—have put the platform in the hands of many people coming online for the first time. These new users are especially vulnerable to the kind of online manipulation that people more familiar with the internet would detect. New research shows that WhatsApp usage can exacerbate groupthink, sometimes mobilizing groups into acts of violence."

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