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How WhatsApp Destroyed a Village

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Re: How WhatsApp Destroyed a Village

#131

Post by phobosdeimos »

TomK32 wrote: post #115
phobosdeimos wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These "unsophisticated" people in India love their kids as people do everywhere and don't want them to get kidnapped and gang raped. Which does seem to happen an awful lot and can be read about in old media newspapers every day. Instead of blaming WhatsApp maybe the Indian government can start to make people feel safe.

I must point out that in most cases child abuse happens inside families. A stranger kidnapping a child is a rather rare occurrence. Prevention, giving kids a chance to get help, ban of child-marriages etc will help, tough laws and hard punishment will not.

I am well aware of that, my country spends billions every year on child protection and it barely makes a dent it seems. But this is India were public safety is lacking and kidnapping is not so rare. And instead of doing the hard thing we are here talking about WhatsApp.

Re: How WhatsApp Destroyed a Village

#132

Post by upofadown »

>The videos, whose origins are impossible to trace because of WhatsApp’s strong encryption, ...

So? The problem isn't that the videos exist but that people are spreading them without knowing they are true in any sense. Each and every person that forwarded the video is responsible for the results of their entirely deliberate action. In many countries, spreading hate is straight up illegal. Why should people be let off the hook just because it is done on the internet?

Re: How WhatsApp Destroyed a Village

#133

Post by vijaybritto »

wtmt wrote: post #126
quantummkv wrote: post #92

The real problem here is that these services (twitter, fb, whatsapp, etc.) are designed for use by educated, urban people who know the basics of tech. And they are then marketed to uneducated people in remote areas to reach growth metric targets that Zuck and co can fling around at their next meeting. In the west and in the urban areas of SE Asia, these problems do not occur because the users are educated enough to u…

> The real problem here is that these services (twitter, fb, whatsapp, etc.) are designed for use by educated, urban people who know the basics of tech. And they are then marketed to uneducated people in remote areas to reach growth metric targets that Zuck and co can fling around at their next meeting. I'm deeply disappointed that your comment is on the top in this discussion! As one of the "educated and urban" peop…

Not really. Almost all of WhatsApp related lynchings are from villages. The OP's point is that one app cannot fit all. To give you one silly point to understand; These are the people who are online for the first time. They still are in the 'click here to talk to online hotties in your area' level scam. A regular internet user would know that this is fake. Not them!

Re: How WhatsApp Destroyed a Village

#134

Post by beaconstudios »

pluma wrote: post #121
rishav_sharan wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The real problem in this instance is not technology but a lack of education. Whatsapp is of course an enabler and an easy scapegoat. But mob lynchings have been happening in India's backwards areas for decades. People used to beat up "witches", "thieves" etc to death for long before Whatsapp was a thing. People would kill their own children because a "Godman" told them so. This will keep on happening whether they pol…

So when Indians believe propaganda and kill a group of travelers, that's a lack of education. What is it when white Americans invade an Italian restaurant in search of child abuse or harass firefighters and grieving parents while accusing them of being "crisis actors"?

it's not lack of education in either case. It's just how people are. You believe lies, I believe lies, everyone does - the only reason we feel we can point at mob lynchings and say "backwards!" but look at our own problems (e.g. political riots) and say otherwise is because of differences in culture and perspective.

Re: How WhatsApp Destroyed a Village

#135

Post by beaconstudios »

rapnie wrote: post #99
rishav_sharan wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The real problem in this instance is not technology but a lack of education. Whatsapp is of course an enabler and an easy scapegoat. But mob lynchings have been happening in India's backwards areas for decades. People used to beat up "witches", "thieves" etc to death for long before Whatsapp was a thing. People would kill their own children because a "Godman" told them so. This will keep on happening whether they pol…

> The real problem in this instance is not technology but a lack of education. But WA could certainly help with this education, maybe in the same sense it educates you that a conversation is E2E encrypted. The app could easily provide a clear warning and an additional page with concrete examples of abuse/misuse and dangers.

people have a tendency to ignore in-app warnings. Steam puts at message at the top of every chat telling you not to give out your password, but after noticing it once or twice it just blends into the background. The lesson won't stay in the forefront of your mind.

Re: How WhatsApp Destroyed a Village

#136

Post by ncrmro »

quantummkv wrote: post #92

The real problem here is that these services (twitter, fb, whatsapp, etc.) are designed for use by educated, urban people who know the basics of tech. And they are then marketed to uneducated people in remote areas to reach growth metric targets that Zuck and co can fling around at their next meeting. In the west and in the urban areas of SE Asia, these problems do not occur because the users are educated enough to u…

Seen this first hand with a good friends brother in Kashmir reposting ketchup is made from all kinds of gross stuff except tomatoes.

Re: How WhatsApp Destroyed a Village

#137

Post by celticninja »

wtmt wrote: post #126
quantummkv wrote: post #92

The real problem here is that these services (twitter, fb, whatsapp, etc.) are designed for use by educated, urban people who know the basics of tech. And they are then marketed to uneducated people in remote areas to reach growth metric targets that Zuck and co can fling around at their next meeting. In the west and in the urban areas of SE Asia, these problems do not occur because the users are educated enough to u…

> The real problem here is that these services (twitter, fb, whatsapp, etc.) are designed for use by educated, urban people who know the basics of tech. And they are then marketed to uneducated people in remote areas to reach growth metric targets that Zuck and co can fling around at their next meeting. I'm deeply disappointed that your comment is on the top in this discussion! As one of the "educated and urban" peop…

There is a difference between an individual falling for a scam and a lynch mob. In the individual's situation they may not talk about to anyone, if they do many would be told it is a scam and wouldn't get scammed. In the story they are talking about it with others and there is no one saying "it's a scam/fake" so they reinforce their beliefs rather than have them challenged.

Re: How WhatsApp Destroyed a Village

#138

Post by iamshs »

quantummkv wrote: post #122
iamshs wrote: post #103

Blaming WhatsApp is easy, but it is the ideology that should be getting attacked here. I will bring in viewpoint relevant to Indian minorities here. They are under exceptional threat in India right now, and they don't have resources or means to counter the propaganda being rained on them. Current party ruling India, BJP, is beholden to a group with fascist ideologies, RSS [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. RSS views Muslims and Christ…

I am sorry, but how is any political ideology is in any way relevant to the article? There was no political intention nor any minority/majority religion behind these lynchings.

Thanks for your question. That political ideology started the lynching trend using WhatsApp as a misinformation medium. India witnessed widespread lynchings of people, mainly minorities, who were simply transporting cows, an animal considered holy by Hindus. So this modus operandi was used before, until it percolated further.

Re: How WhatsApp Destroyed a Village

#139

Post by SmallDeadGuy »

wtmt wrote: post #126
quantummkv wrote: post #92

The real problem here is that these services (twitter, fb, whatsapp, etc.) are designed for use by educated, urban people who know the basics of tech. And they are then marketed to uneducated people in remote areas to reach growth metric targets that Zuck and co can fling around at their next meeting. In the west and in the urban areas of SE Asia, these problems do not occur because the users are educated enough to u…

> The real problem here is that these services (twitter, fb, whatsapp, etc.) are designed for use by educated, urban people who know the basics of tech. And they are then marketed to uneducated people in remote areas to reach growth metric targets that Zuck and co can fling around at their next meeting. I'm deeply disappointed that your comment is on the top in this discussion! As one of the "educated and urban" peop…

He's saying uneducated in the context of technology (pretty much in those exact words). This means they don't know that what they are seeing in WhatsApp is fake and/or taken out of context. They don't know about common scams, or which sources are trustworthy/reputable. They don't know where to look to find out this information, either.

Sure there are plenty of people like that everywhere you look, but the proportion of them in urban areas is much lower and as such the probability of them finding each other and banding together for acts like this are much lower too.

Re: How WhatsApp Destroyed a Village

#140

Post by iamshs »

vijaybritto wrote: post #133
wtmt wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The real problem here is that these services (twitter, fb, whatsapp, etc.) are designed for use by educated, urban people who know the basics of tech. And they are then marketed to uneducated people in remote areas to reach growth metric targets that Zuck and co can fling around at their next meeting. I'm deeply disappointed that your comment is on the top in this discussion! As one of the "educated and urban" peop…

Not really. Almost all of WhatsApp related lynchings are from villages. The OP's point is that one app cannot fit all. To give you one silly point to understand; These are the people who are online for the first time. They still are in the 'click here to talk to online hotties in your area' level scam. A regular internet user would know that this is fake. Not them!

Patently false and just a way to whitewash the crime. Here are lynching/mob attack examples from Indian cities:-

1. Gurgaon : https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/muslim-meat-selle...

2. Hyderabad: https://www.firstpost.com/india/mob-lynching-telangana-polic...

3. Jaipur: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/25-year-old-...

4. Chennai: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/two-beaten-in-chenna...

5. Ahemdabad: https://www.news18.com/news/india/woman-beggar-lynched-on-su...

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