WhatsApp’s Fake News Problem in India Turns Deadly
False news and viral videos on WhatsApp, India’s largest messaging app, are fueling mob violence and creating major challenges for its parent company, Facebook, which already faces global scrutiny over misinformation and privacy.
In Madhya Pradesh last week, a viral WhatsApp message claimed that 500 beggars were roaming villages to murder people and harvest organs. The text urged users to forward it, triggering panic. Soon after, a mob of 50–60 villagers brutally assaulted two innocent men. Police later traced the origin of the hoax to three men who were arrested.
This followed another incident in Bengaluru, where a false WhatsApp alert about 400 child traffickers led to the lynching of a 26-year-old migrant worker. So far in 2025, such rumors about child abductors have triggered multiple attacks across India, leaving at least three people dead and many others injured.
With 200+ million users, India is WhatsApp’s largest market. The combination of cheap data plans and widespread mobile access has amplified the reach of misinformation, often sparking mass hysteria and communal tension.
WhatsApp has acknowledged the problem, saying it is expanding education efforts and testing labels for forwarded messages, but has ruled out weakening encryption. Meanwhile, the Indian government is pushing stricter regulations, including mandatory local data storage and proposals to monitor fake news more closely.
Privacy advocates warn these measures risk curbing free expression. Yet the rising wave of hoaxes—from child kidnappers to false medical alerts—underscores the stakes: in India, WhatsApp’s fake news problem has become a public safety crisis.
