Messaging application WhatsApp has recently propelled a fact-checking service in India to help control the spread of false information ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha decisions.
The online instant messaging platform said in a statement that it has tied up with Indian startup Proto and two different associations, Meedan and Dig Deeper Media, for the service.
Fact-Checking service is named “Checkpoint Tipline”. Accordiong to the service, Clients can send messages, including pictures, video and content in English, Telugu, Bengali, Hindi and Malyalam. The tip line will arrange the messages as true, false, deceptive or disputing.
WhatsApp users can inform and submit what they think is deceptive to Checkpoint Tipline at +919643000888, directly on WhatsApp.
The company described Checkpoint as “a research project commissioned and technically assisted by WhatsApp”.
WhatsApp said in a statement that the challenge of viral misinformation requires more collaborative efforts and cannot be solved by any one organization alone.
This is one of a several initiatives launched by the company to handle counterfeit ahead of the elections, which will be held from April 11 to May 19.
In July, the messaging app imposed the limit to the number of times a message could be sent on WhatsApp in India.
The platform, however, has started an encryption on its messages, implying that the messages can’t be perused by an outsider and even the organization itself, which has posed a challenge when it comes to tracking misinformation.
