WhatsApp starts radio campaign to address fake news

Facebook-owned messaging app WhatsApp, which is in the middle of a controversy with the Indian government over fake news, said it has started a radio campaign to tackle the issue.

"As a part of the on-going educational campaign by WhatsApp on safety, WhatsApp has initiated a radio campaign this week to create awareness about misinformation circulated on the platform. Through this radio campaign, WhatsApp urges users to be cognizant of the messages they receive and be mindful before forwarding," WhatsApp says in a statement on Wednesday.

These short 30-second radio messages will air as ads on various channels in Hindi, with the main message of "mil kar mitaayein afwaahon ka bazar" (let's together eradicate the rumours in the market).

Over the past few months, Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad has been asking the messaging platform to fix the issue of origin of fake and inciting messages.

Prasad also met WhatsApp head Chris Daniels earlier this month, said the Facebook-owned messaging app has contributed significantly to India's digital story but it needs to find solutions to deal with "sinister developments" like mob lynching and revenge porn.

He also asked Daniels to set up a corporate entity in India, appoint a grievance officer and find a technical solution to tracing the origin of fake messages on its platform.
"WhatsApp stands committed in its efforts to address these issues jointly with civil society, stakeholders and the government," the messaging platform said in a statement on Wednesday.