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India: Google engineer latest victim of mob lynchings fueled by WhatsApp rumors

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Re: India: Google engineer latest victim of mob lynchings fueled by WhatsApp rumors

#3

Post by gaius »

WhatsApp needs to recognize India offers a huge market for them. They are making good money out of India operations," Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said earlier this month. "Therefore they must focus on the security related aspects of people of India."

What is WhatsApp’s monetisation strategy in India? Is it susceptible to regulation or is the government powerless in these situations?

Re: India: Google engineer latest victim of mob lynchings fueled by WhatsApp rumors

#5

Post by tomp »

This reminds me of the “Foxconn suicides” story... sure the absolute numbers were high, but Foxconn has like a million employees, so the suicide rate was actually completely “normal”.

> 25 people have been killed since May

So 150 people per year, or 0.000015% of India’s population. Sure, it’s a problem, but I’m pretty sure there are bigger problems that are easier to solve (rape and acid attacks come to mind).

Re: India: Google engineer latest victim of mob lynchings fueled by WhatsApp rumors

#7

Post by wheresvic1 »

This pretty much highlights how important education is and the effort that needs to go toward educating the poor in India.

The coming wave of technology and tools is only going to exacerbate these problems further.

One small thing that whatsapp could potentially do is to make it a little bit harder to forward messages to everyone. force people to wait a couple of seconds before adding another person.

Re: India: Google engineer latest victim of mob lynchings fueled by WhatsApp rumors

#8

Post by jopsen »

tomp wrote: post #5

This reminds me of the “Foxconn suicides” story... sure the absolute numbers were high, but Foxconn has like a million employees, so the suicide rate was actually completely “normal”. > 25 people have been killed since May So 150 people per year, or 0.000015% of India’s population. Sure, it’s a problem, but I’m pretty sure there are bigger problems that are easier to solve (rape and acid attacks come to mind).

Similarly, one could ask if this is something new? Or have WhatsApp merely replaced another media platform.

Re: India: Google engineer latest victim of mob lynchings fueled by WhatsApp rumors

#9

Post by PunchTornado »

tomp wrote: post #5

This reminds me of the “Foxconn suicides” story... sure the absolute numbers were high, but Foxconn has like a million employees, so the suicide rate was actually completely “normal”. > 25 people have been killed since May So 150 people per year, or 0.000015% of India’s population. Sure, it’s a problem, but I’m pretty sure there are bigger problems that are easier to solve (rape and acid attacks come to mind).

there are always bigger problem to solve. your point? I really don't get how "bigger problem to solve" is ever a valid argument.

Re: India: Google engineer latest victim of mob lynchings fueled by WhatsApp rumors

#10

Post by Chickenosaurus »

It's great WhatsApp took steps to prevent the spread of false information but that isn't the root of the problem. The root of the problem is of a cultural nature.

At present there is no law that criminalises mob killings. For that reason, the perpetrators are often not prosecuted by the police. A law that makes clear mob killings are unacceptable would go a long way in changing the cultural stance towards such acts.

Thankfully, the Manav Suraksha Kanoon (law to protect humans) could close this legal gap soon.

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