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    Disinformation Is Spreading on WhatsApp in India—And It’s Getting Dangerous

    The spread of hoaxes and doctored photos during massive floods in Kerala showed, yet again, how easily disinformation can spread on messaging platforms like WhatsApp—and how deadly it can be.
    by Timothy McLaughlin Sep 05, 2018 6 minutes
    Source: Sivaram V / Reuters

    MUMBAI—Kerala was drowning. For over a week, rains had inundated the state, located in southwest India, causing widespread flooding and leading to the deaths of hundreds. Disturbingly, agents of disinformation saw the disaster as the perfect time to strike. Taking to Facebook and to WhatsApp, the Facebook-owned encrypted messaging platform, they disseminated false news of a dam on the verge of bursting, circulated a fake phone number for a navy rescue helicopter, and spread an erroneous claim that the Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo had donated $11 million to relief efforts. The sheer volume of disinformation that spread during the floods and the subsequent rescue operations was so great that the Indian army asked the public to help identify people sharing disinformation. Kerala’s chief minister issued a warning that “strict measures” would be taken against “cyber offenders.”

    Meanwhile, some 800 miles away in Mumbai, a TV in the newsroom at BOOM flashed with images of people in Kerala stranded on rooftops, surrounded by brown, murky water, awaiting rescue. BOOM is one that spread through WhatsApp

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