Although it resurfaced strongly due to Trump’s rhetoric against mainstream media in America, fake news has always been a problem to be taken seriously. In India, the fake news problem is seemingly being fueled by digital illiteracy. Akanksha Saxena had this article in German Media company Deutsche Welle. Here’s an excerpt:

In the summer of 2018, rumors began circulating on WhatsApp groups about a kidnapping gang operating in India’s western state of Maharashtra.

The rumors eventually inspired a lynch mob that killed five migrant workers who were suspected of being kidnappers after they arrived at a village in the state’s Dhule district.

This wasn’t an isolated case. Child-abduction rumors spread by viral WhatsApp messages were connected to at least 17 murders across India in 2018. Rumors of cattle traders and organ harvesters also resulted in violent attacks on innocent people.

Read the full article here.