Crack Down on Fake News, WhatsApp Blocks 1.32 Crore Indian Accounts

DELHI: Social Media's rise has made our lives better but everything comes with a negative side.

WhatsApp is one such social media app which is used by perpetrators to share fake news which has also earned the app a sneering name of "WhatsApp University" suggesting it is an institution of mass disuse. 

People without verifying the authenticity of the news tend to overshare it on WhatsApp which has many times had violent repercussions. 

With misinformation, fake news, scams and hate messages flowing through the Meta-owned chat app the Government of India along with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) have coordinated to bring out the IT Rules 2021. Social Media platforms have to share a report every month to show what action they have taken to curb these abuses. 

WhatsApp recently announced that it has blocked more than 20 lakh accounts in December 2021 as those accounts were violating the rules of the platform. 

After the new IT rules came into effect, WhatsApp blocked more than 1.32 crore accounts in 6 months' time.

WhatsApp revealed in July 2021 that between May and June 2021, the Meta-owned app has banned 20 lakh accounts and that they have been banning 20 lakh accounts on an average every month which has amounted close to 1.32 crore accounts as of December 2021. 

As per fresh reports, WhatsApp has banned more than 1.5 crore accounts after the new IT rules in 2021 came into effect.

Cybercriminals and scammers are devising new methods to con people by swapping their faces with porn images and later extorting a large amounts of money from the victims. 

These scammers have not spared the police too as Guwahati Police Commissioner Harmeet Singh has also fallen prey to online fraudsters who used his photo on WhatsApp to impersonate the IPS officer. 

"A scammer has copied my photo from the internet and is sending WhatsApp messages. I request anyone who gets such a message to press the Report & Block buttons available on WhatsApp. @WhatsApp it's time you woke up to this scam, which is rampant," Commissioner of Police Singh tweeted.

Also Read: WhatsApp plans to bring Stories-like feature to chat list

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