NEW DELHI: Facebook Inc. has claimed that it is taking steps to reduce the spread of false information on its platform ahead of India’s general election.
Samidh Chakrabarti, director of Facebook’s Product Management for Civic Integrity division, said that Facebook has put the Indian elections a “top priority,” and put in a “tremendous amount of efforts over the last two years” to prepare for the polls.
He informed that Facebook listed a variety of measures it is taking, from blocking fake accounts to employing third-party fact-checking organizations, through the campaign and voting, with polling scheduled to take place in stages from April 11 to May 19.
He said Facebook has partnered with Indian media organizations to check and flag false stories in English, Hindi and some other regional Indian languages.
India has the highest number of Facebook users in the world, with more than 300 million. That is about a third of the 900 million people eligible to vote in 2019.
The elections will be held in seven phases to ensure proper security and manageable logistics across the country of 1.3 billion people. (Agencies)
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