• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Saturday, December 2, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home Democracy at Risk Media Freedom

WhatsApp Seeks to Stem Fake News Ahead of Pakistan Election

Staff Writer by Staff Writer
07/18/18
in Media Freedom, World
Social media users

Photo: AFP

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

The hugely popular WhatsApp messaging service began a week-long publicity campaign in Pakistan Wednesday offering tips to spot fake news, days before the country holds a general election.

“Together we can fight false information,” says the full-page ad in Dawn, Pakistan’s leading English-language daily, listing ten tips on differentiating rumours from fact.

“Many messages containing hoaxes or fake news have spelling mistakes. Look for these signs so you can check if the information is accurate,” it says. “If you read something that makes you angry or afraid, ask whether it was shared to make you feel that way. And if the answer is yes, think twice before sharing it again.”

WhatsApp also announced the implementation in the country of a new feature allowing recipients to see if a message is original or forwarded.

The company had bought full-page advertising in India on July 10 after a wave of lynchings in the country were linked to viral “fake news” spread by WhatsApp about alleged child kidnappings.

WhatsApp, owned by Facebook, had come under pressure from Indian authorities to put an end to the spread of rumours, which have caused the deaths of more than 20 people in the past two months.

Millions of people use WhatsApp in neighbouring Pakistan, where rumours, false information and conspiracy theories are ubiquitous. Such messages spread quickly, with no real way for recipients to check their veracity.

Pakistan also has a history of mob violence, and videos such as the murder of Mashal Khan — a journalism student accused of blasphemy who was killed by a mob in April 2017 — circulate rapidly.

Parliamentary elections are scheduled for July 25.

ShareTweet
Staff Writer

Staff Writer

AFP with The Globe Post

Related Posts

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo
Media Freedom

Fake News Punishable by Years in Prison Under Proposed Nicaraguan Law

by Staff Writer
September 29, 2020
A Chinese Twitter user's app store
World

Russian, Chinese Media Target Europeans With COVID-19 Fake News: Study

by Alexandra Marquez
October 20, 2020
Do the Riots in Minneapolis Forebode Greater Civil Unrest for the US?
National

US Protests Over Floyd’s Killing a ‘Perfect Storm’ for False Info

by Staff Writer
June 5, 2020
Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen
Opinion

What Taiwan’s Elections Will Tell China About Its Interference Campaign

by Niki J.P. Alsford
January 8, 2020
A magnifying glass emphazises the words 'fake news' on a computer screen.
Opinion

Fake News, the Longest War in US History, and a Tentative Path Forward

by Benjamin Waddell
November 6, 2019
Mexican police are looking into the death of a journalist, who was found stabbed to death
Opinion

Why Doesn’t the Mexican Government Protect Journalists?

by Kris Kodrich
September 25, 2019
Next Post
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi. On Thursday, he rejected an offer by regional officials to freeze the results of the Kurdistan referendum.

In Iraq, Old Grievances Fuel Deadly Protests

Social media users

Music Philosophy Can Foil Fake News Fallacy

Recommended

Dutch politician Geert Wilders

Xenophobia in the Netherlands? Unpacking the PVV’s Surprising Success

November 28, 2023
Ukraine war

NATO Chief Says ‘No Alternative’ to Helping Ukraine Stop Putin

November 27, 2023
Migrants stranded at the Finland border

Russia Warns of a ‘Crisis’ at Arctic Border With Finland

November 22, 2023
People march against climate change in Bordeaux, southwestern France, on October 13, 2018.

Earth to Warm Up to 2.9C Even With Current Climate Pledges: UN

November 20, 2023
A woman in Singapore checks her mobile

Singapore and Indonesia Launch Cross-Border QR-Code Payments

November 17, 2023
This illustration picture shows the AI (Artificial Intelligence) smartphone app ChatGPT surrounded by other AI Apps in Vaasa, on June 6, 2023

AI Images of White Faces Are Now ‘Hyper-Real’: Study

November 13, 2023

Opinion

Dutch politician Geert Wilders

Xenophobia in the Netherlands? Unpacking the PVV’s Surprising Success

November 28, 2023
Afghan refugees

The Blessed and Cursed Randomness of Our Lives

October 25, 2023
Joe Biden

The ‘Polycrisis’ Challenge: Biden’s Vision for Global Problem-Solving

September 26, 2023
Pro-Trump protester in front of Capitol Hill.

The Ominous (and Irresponsible) Chatter of a Civil War 

September 4, 2023
A bamboo-based design raises family homes safely above water levels to cope with raising water levels in Bangladesh.

The West Owes Climate Refugees Reparations Now

August 14, 2023
President Donald Trump in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House.

Boxing Day Comes to South Florida

July 5, 2023
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post