After facing a huge backlash for the misuse of its platform, WhatsApp has decided to combat the spread of fake news in India.
WhatsApp has now turned to television and social media to educate its users.
It has launched three 1- minute ad films for TV, Facebook, and YouTube to raise awareness about the rampant fake news and harmful rumours. The videos fall under the umbrella campaign “Share Joy, Not Rumors” and are based on a real user’s experience.They are available in 10 languages to reach the diverse user base of the application.
The films are scheduled to release just before the Assembly elections in Rajasthan and Telangana.
According to the sources, Mumbai agency Taproot and the filmmaker Shirsha Guha Thakurta worked on the videos.
Bosco Zubiaga,the producer of these videos, said “We recognise… connecting people can also lead to the spread of misinformation, which has to be confronted.We hope this campaign will help educate people how to stay safe on WhatsApp.”
In each film, the protagonist teaches someone important in their lives to not spread rumours and to use WhatsApp controls such as the ability to leave groups that could be propagating misinformation and how to block unknown senders.
These ads will run on a diverse numbers of channel including news and cinema, and will be followed up by online and print ads as well.