How WhatsApp Leads Mobs to Murder in India - The New York Times
▻https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/07/18/technology/whatsapp-india-killings.html
Terrible à lire.
Le mode d’exposition de l’affaire est aussi très agréable, avec des vidéos en face des textes, qui aident beaucoup à comprendre.
Le design des médias sociaux est un coup de pouce aux porteurs de rumeurs. Et la crise morale et politique de l’Inde n’arrange rien.
In India, false rumors about child kidnappers have gone viral on WhatsApp, prompting fearful mobs to kill two dozen innocent people since April.
False information has flooded social media in recent years, inciting violence from Brazil to Sri Lanka. The messages in India have preyed on a universal fear: harm coming to a child. And the millions of poorly educated Indians coming online for the first time mean many are quick to believe what is on their phones.
This clip went viral. It was produced as part of a public service announcement in Pakistan, but it was edited to look like a real kidnapping. The authorities don’t know who altered the video.
The region’s top government official said the police had gone around for weeks before the attack warning people not to believe the false kidnapping rumors. But they were no match for WhatsApp. “We could not compete,” he said.
WhatsApp’s design makes it easy to spread false information. Many messages are shared in groups, and when they are forwarded, there is no indication of their origin. The kidnap warnings have often appeared to come from friends and family.
WhatsApp said it was horrified by the killings.
Last week, it began labeling all forwarded messages. It also took out newspaper ads to educate people about misinformation and pledged to work more closely with police and independent fact-checkers
The police have arrested 46 people for the attack on Rukmani and her family and are pursuing 74 more.