Whatsapp, a platform used extensively by all to stay connected, has also turned into a chosen ground for those wanting to play their dirty games by spreading fake news. Unfortunately, many buy them, and at times the outcome is violent and fatal. The case of two youths lynched in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district after a fake post about child abductors on social media went viral, is one such recent example. This dangerous and potentially deadly trend is soaring in the widely-used messaging service. The reason for which many feel is the blurring lines between validity and virality.
“The creators of any — especially criminally-oriented — fake post have only one agenda — to make it go viral. This virality alone makes subsequent users blindly believe in, and not question the truth of, such posts. While validity loses its battle with virality, evidencing remains no one’s concern. Checks and balances go for a toss. The subsequent users then relish this environment for various reasons,” shares Nakshatra Pachauri, author of Post Zombieism: The Social Media Hordes.
Criminal psychologist Anuja Kapur believes that technology is a boon for the country, but when the right buttons are in the wrong hands it becomes a step back for any nation. “Fake news is made up and put there to correspond with what troubled people want to put out in the world. It attracts major attention and falsifies its readers. These so-called news stories can be used to push spurious political agendas, spread false propaganda and deceive the society.”
She adds, “There is no uncertainty that technology helps fake news spread like wildfire from one device to another at the touch of a button. As technology advances, so do ways of spreading false news. Social media and its crowd kinetics are used by people with troubled minds to their advantage, believing anything on the internet without any verification. People always need to be careful where they get their info from.”
But what are the reasons behind this rampant spreading of fake news to spread hate and create turmoil? One key reason is the user’s compulsive desire to be the ‘first to post’. “Social media platforms allow no opportunity to process long-term effects of one’s actions. Most users are concerned only with the short-term impact of their actions. The act of potentially posting first amongst their groups provides immense satisfaction, resulting in an immediate online reflex (posting) on (readily available) smartphones,” shares Pachauri, who believes that the constant urge to demonstrate the reach of one’s connectivity makes users readily post on all available groups/platforms. The continuing virality of posts feeds on this ‘showing off’ trait which also re-emphasises the social media echo chambers.
“Knowledge becomes secondary and narcissism rules. The virality of messages, ability (and speed) of posting and the usability of platforms are the tangible elements easily related to by users. Whether such actions cost lives remain an intangible abstract and therefore is either completely ignored or knowingly avoided,” adds Pachauri, who strongly believes that all this wouldn’t be an issue if the repercussions only remained virtual. “The problem arises when such self-affirming xenophobic virtual behaviour has a strong and disturbing manifestation in the real world. The virtual viralities become new truths for both virtual users and their real manifestations. And all hell breaks lose when the virtually propagated hatred results in a convoluted mindset and thinking being manifested in the real world with deadly consequences, such as the recent spate of Whatsapp-related lynchings.”
Fake news going viral has repercussions that have time and again been the reason of mob violence and death of innocents. However, some believe that social media itself can be the solution. “Technology may help spread fake news, but amazingly it can also be used as a tool to confine this problem,” shares Kapur. “Graph information is resourceful enough to examine the immense magnitude of data and unambiguously catch connecting relationships to investigate fake news. Other machines and software are also available that use algorithms which can be used for analysing news from multiple aspects. This makes it easy to get the credibility of individual news articles and their sources.”
Chauhan, founder of Red Carpet Exhibition, feels the need to be selective while using social media platforms. “Whatsapp is an informative platform to spread news, but every app can have a positive and negative effect. It’s about the usage of the app. I personally think we need to be selective while joining the groups. Join the ones that circulate positive and verified news.”
Adding to it, Mukesh Gupta, chairperson, PHD Chamber tourism committee, feels the need to create awareness among the users. “Whatsapp is an excellent and convenient tool to stay connected. But unfortunately, it has become an easy tool for rumour-mongers. It can be defined as ‘grape in the hands of ape’. Thus, there’s a need for more awareness to manage the ill-effects of such rumours. The problem is more unique to our country because awareness level in our society is very low among a vast section of people,” he says.
