WhatsApp says will work on security, make efforts to weed out fake news

WhatsApp on Wednesday said that the company will take more measures to limit viral content after it faced immense pressure from the Indian government to devise ways to identify and weed out fake news on its platform. Abhijit Bose, India head of WhatsApp, said that security is fundamental to the messaging platform and that he would work with the stakeholders in India to achieve the ‘common safety goal’, according to PTI.

The announcement comes a month before the Lok Sabha 2019 elections kick off in India. WhatsApp has been plagued with fake news that incited mob fury, and resulted in over a dozen people getting lynched across India. The government has, on several occasions, warned social media companies that they can’t evade responsibility if their platforms are used to spread false information.