This photo illustration shows an Indian newspaper vendor reading a newspaper with a full back page advertisement from WhatsApp intended to counter fake information, in New Delhi on July 10, 2018. Facebook owned messaging service WhatsApp on July 10 published full-page advertisements in Indian dailies in a bid to counter fake information that has sparked mob lynching attacks across the country. / AFP PHOTO / Prakash SINGH
For online trolls, India might be the world’s fattest target. Nearly a billion people are registered to vote in the country’s upcoming elections, the largest in history.
Meanwhile, India is one of the fastest-growing markets for social-media platforms and messaging apps. The potential for hoaxes, slander, rumors and sundry other misinformation to influence voters is vast. India’s efforts to combat that threat, however, risk undermining the very democracy they’re meant to save.
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