When fake news sparks violence: India grapples with online rumours

This photo taken on June 10, 2018 shows Indian protesters demanding the arrest and punishment of people involved in the killing of two men in Karbi Anglong district, during a protest in Guwahati, the capital city of India’s northeastern state of Assam. The smartphone footage shows the two blood-soaked men pleading for their lives. Moments later they were dead, two more victims of lynchings sparked by rumours spread on Facebook and WhatsApp in India. Abhijeet Nath and Nilotpal Das were beaten to death by a mob in Karbi Anglong district that suspected the youths to be child abductors on June 8. / AFP PHOTO / Biju BORO / TO GO WITH INDIA-TECHNOLOGY-MEDIA-INTERNET,FOCUS by Alexandre MARCHAND

NEW DELHI: India has been shaken by a spate of mob killings sparked by a hoax about child kidnappers spread on WhatsApp. 

In just two months, 20 people have been murdered in such attacks. Officials and social media platforms have so far been powerless to stop the violence.