WhatsApp launches new Checkpoint Tipline fact-checking service in India ahead of upcoming elections. According to Reuters, from now on, users will forward messages through an intermediate node. The operators in it will evaluate the data, setting labels like "true", "false", "misleading", or "controversial". These posts will also be used to create a database to understand how disinformation is being spread. The executor of the project is the startup Proto.
As noted, the elections in India will start on April 11, and the final results are expected on May 23. Also note that the messaging service owned by Facebook is constantly criticized for spreading false and misleading information in India. In particular, earlier, due to a computer virus in WhatsApp, fakes about a gang of criminals of 500 people dressed as poor people who kill people and sell their organs spread throughout the country. The service was also accused of facilitating the spread of viral information during last year's elections in Brazil.
The system will support a total of five languages ββ- English, Hindi, Telugu, Bengali and Malayalam. Verification will be carried out not only for text, but also for videos and images.
Note that earlier the service limited the number of possible message forwardings to 5. Also, these messages are marked with a special label. It should also be noted that the presence of end-to-end encryption makes WhatsApp βproblematicβ for regulation from the outside. Facebook recently announced that it has removed 549 Facebook accounts and 138 user pages that were suspected of deliberate misinformation in India. However, WhatsApp's use of encryption makes tracking difficult.
Source: 3dnews.ru