WhatsApp launches fact-checking service in India ahead of elections
1 April 2019 6:30 PM GMT
WhatsApp is launching a new fact-checking service in India ahead of the country?s upcoming elections. Users can now forward messages to the Checkpoint Tipline, where a team lead by local startup Proto will asses and rate them.
- Reuters reports that users can now forward messages to the Checkpoint Tipline, where a team lead by local startup Proto will asses and mark them as either "true," "false," "misleading," or "disputed.
- The Facebook-owned messaging service has come under continuous fire for facilitating the spread of false and misleading information in India, where viral rumors have been linked to almost a dozen deaths.
- A total of five languages will be supported by Checkpoint Tipline - English, Hindi, Telugu, Bengali and Malayalam - and the service will support misinformation spread in the form of text, videos, and images.
- The Checkpoint Tipline is just one of a range of changes WhatsApp has made to its service to combat the spread of misinformation.
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