Maharashtra police to join as many WhatsApp groups to curb fake news and rumours

Police officers in the Maharashtra Police unit have been instructed to be a part of as many **WhatsApp** groups as possible. The move comes in the wake of recent lynchings in western Maharashtra’s Dhule district which was triggered by fake news circulated on WhatsApp. [caption id=“attachment_4668351” align=“alignnone” width=“1024”]  WhatsApp. Reuters.[/caption] On 1 July, five people were **mob-lynched** in Dhule district as they were rumoured to be child abductors as per a message on WhatsApp. This was one of the many such incidents that have taken place in the past few days where people have been lynched on the basis of news circulated on social media. According to a Mid-Day report, police officers have been instructed informally to be a part of such groups. They have been instructed to stop the spread of such rumours or catch culprits who spread them since asking people to physically stop such rumours is not possible. Recently the Director General of Police, Datta Padsalgikar also appealed to the people that if they receive such rumours they must inform about it to the local police and get it verified. If the news is true, then it is the police who will take necessary steps. He also advised people to first verify the messages or rumours with the local police rather than spreading them on WhatsApp or other social media channels without verification. The recent menace created by fake news spreading on WhatsApp has forced the government of India to **remind**  WhatsApp that it cannot evade responsibility. In response to the government, WhatsApp said that while it will bring features to mitigate the problem, it has also said that it needs to partner with the government and the society to uproot the problem.