Facebook’s political can of worms

A Wall Street Journal report that suggested Facebook condoned hate posts by the Hindutva ecosystem in India to protect the company’s business prospects in its largest market in the world has opened a political can of worms on a toxic phenomenon called the “WhatsApp University”.

The Congress on Sunday demanded a probe by a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) into Facebook’s links with the BJP and the role of the social media platforms, including the WhatsApp chat service the company owns, in spreading hate and fake news in India.

Congress leaders disclosed that they had lodged formal complaints with Facebook and WhatsApp on multiple occasions, categorically asking them to stop influencing Indian elections, but no corrective measures had been taken.