WhatsApp Introduces New Service To Combat Deepfake Threat In India; Details Here

New Delhi: Meta is partnering with the Misinformation Combat Alliance (MCA) to combat the spread of fake news and misinformation on its platform in India. As part of this initiative, it has introduced a helpline service to address these issues. Starting from March, users in the country will have access to this helpline through a WhatsApp chatbot.

Access To Service in different languages

The helpline aims to inform and warn users about potential deepfake dangers and content circulating on WhatsApp from various origins. Without providing specific information about the chatbot/helpline, WhatsApp users in India will have access to the service in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and other languages, with additional regional languages to be introduced later on.

WhatsApp is highly popular in India serving as a platform where content and news can quickly spread. In an election year, Meta and WhatsApp aim to avoid the platform promoting fake news and deepfake content which could attract unwanted attention from government agencies. 

WhatsApp Message Restriction

To address this, WhatsApp has restricted message forwarding to five in India to limit virality especially for contentious content. Chatbots are increasingly relied upon for providing information and WhatsApp plans to utilize its team of fact-checkers to filter content and prevent the spread of fake news. The helpline will be tested next month to assess its effectiveness in combating misinformation.