News

The main take away from our research is that when it comes to preventing the spread of fake news, privacy is key   The term “  fake news  ” has become ubiquitous over the past two years. The Cambridge English dictionary defines it as “false stories that appear to be news, spread on the internet or using other media, usually created to influence political views or as a joke”. As part of a global push to curb the spread of deliberate misinformation, researchers are trying to understand what drives people to share fake news and how its endorsement can propagate through a social network. But humans are complex social animals, and technology misses the richness of human learning and interactions. That’s why we decided to take a different approach in our research. We used the latest techniques from artificial intelligence to study how support for – or opposition to – a piece of fake news can spread within a social network. We believe our model is more real...

The instant messaging platform had earlier expressed inability in tracing the origin of messages citing privacy of consumers With the government threatening action against  WhatsApp  over spread of fake news, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the American messaging platform, Chris Daniels, flew down to New Delhi to fix things. Daniels, who took over as the boss of WhatsApp in May, on Tuesday told the government it would work out a technological solution to trace the origin of fake messages. The Facebook-owned firm, with more than 200 million active subscribers in India, also committed to complying with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) rules relating to local storage of financial data by having servers in India. Daniels, a Facebook insider known for running  Internet.org  at the California-based social media firm, has been firefighting with the Indian authorities over fake news soon after he was appointed as the WhatsApp boss. Following an exchange...

The government is more concerned with Telegram, fast becoming the preferred medium for many people The government has said it expects popular social media applications such as WhatsApp and Facebook, which have large user bases in the country, to be responsible. In a bid to check the spread of fake news through social media and messaging platforms — leading to mob lynching in some cases — the government is exploring the possibility of blocking WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and Telegram. The government is also trying to curb child abuse and pornography spread through these platforms. The government has already issued notices on WhatsApp to keep a check on content. But, it is more concerned with Telegram, fast becoming the preferred medium for many people. Sources said the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had expressed concerns about Telegram to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). Based on the letter from MeitY, DoT had asked the telecom an...

Under the present framework, instructions for blocking of websites or URLs are issued by the DoT to internet service licensees, based on the directions of Meity and according to directions from courts In a bid to check the spread of  fake news  through social media and messaging platforms — leading to mob lynching in some cases — the government is exploring the possibility of blocking mobile applications such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and Telegram. The government is also trying to curb child abuse and pornography spread through these platforms. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had written to telecommunications service providers (TSPs) and internet service providers (ISPs) on July 18, seeking inputs about options for blocking mobile applications, especially when national security and public order are under threat. According to officials, the DoT had a meeting on July 4 with telcos and ISPs to discuss measures. “Issues have been raised by the M...

History also suggests that the danger will probably recede over time as people grow accustomed to the ads, which will cease to work as effectively Jordan Peele, the comedian turned horror-movie director, recently made a video meant to give American voters shivers of dread. It showed President Barack Obama giving a speech he never gave, and uttering sentences that he didn’t actually say. The video demonstrated how easy it is to use current technology to create powerful and persuasive lies, now also known as fake news. When this video magic is coupled with the ability of companies like Facebook to micro-target each of us and select the news we see, the implications for the future of our democracy seem dire. Fake news and microtargeting can be combined to create a kind of advertising that’s like an evil version of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and we are being exposed to more of these pernicious morsels every year. But two lessons from the history of advertising sugges...

Congress leader Ahmed Patel, among others, questioned the government move to clamp down on fake news, citing the possibility of the new rule being misused against some In a major crackdown on the menace of fake news, the Narendra Modi-led central government on Monday said such an offence could lead to the accreditation of journalists found guilty of spreading false news being permanently cancelled. The decision comes at a time when other countries have also become vigilant about the spread of fake news, especially after the recent expose of the Facebook Cambridge Analytica episode, which revealed instances of meddling with elections through unauthorised access to user data and spread of fake news. Amid all this, the Malaysian government recently proposed the Anti-Fake News Bill 2018, which will give the government sweeping powers to penalise those found guilty of creating or spreading fake news, along with a jail term of up to six years and fines as high as $130,000, acco...