Hyderabad: As border tensions escalate and fake news spreads, Indian phones are faster than verified updates. From messages claiming to “record your phone” to false reports of air strikes and ATM shutdowns, misinformation spreads as quickly as fear.
A popular forward toured on WhatsApp, saying the government has activated surveillance of all phones and information, and users warned against criticizing the state or the army. It includes false indicators like “three red ticks”, meaning “government tracking”. Another false claim that ATM will remain closed for 72 hours and urges people to withdraw cash immediately – a bank queue in some regions.
A video of the explosion that claimed to be a missile strike in Punjab, later traced back to old footage from the cylinder explosion. The fake screenshots announced by the National Emergency were also toured to prompt the government to clarify.
“The pace of these rumors flying is worrying,” said Ruchika V, the city’s cybersecurity coach. “People are sharing panic or patriotism, rather than realizing that they will exacerbate confusion.”
Digital rights advocates are now urging people to “war with information” just as seriously. “You can’t afford to be neutral. Reposting fake news is not harmless, it can cause panic, divide people and may even lead to violence,” said Karthik Negi, an IT professional and social activist.
Fake news also helps polarize online. The social media side is filled with calls for aggression and glorious image of war. Another is pleading for peace and urging restraint. The gap between the two is widening, usually shaped by any misinformation that people consume at the end.
The fact check service has been flooded with user requests. “We had to debunk the same information 10 times in different formats,” said one volunteer. Now, most platforms are starting to use warning tags to mark war-related error messages.
The only real solution, activists say, is consciousness. “You don’t need an app. Just stop and ask the source of the information, and if you can’t verify it, don’t share it. That’s it. Now it’s civil defense,” Negi suggests.
He also warns people to take action – war or without war, we must unite to fight terrorism. “I see people want to make comments quickly and have polarized and radical views – it’s time to educate yourself and not make explosive remarks,” he added.
GFX
•Do not verify first
•Share any information only from official sources
• Avoid emotional posts or articles containing full capital messages
•Discover visual errors (extra fingers, weird blur)
• Check the date and context of the message
•Reverse search for images to confirm
• Check metadata
• Pay attention to the mismatch of lip synchronization in the video and unnatural blinking
• Ignore anonymous “insider” claims
•Use fact checking website
•Don’t believe in dark profiles
•Calmly correct others and prove
