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WhatsApp status leads to arrest of over 40 people in Karnataka

It brings into question steps taken by the platform to check disinformation.

A student's status on WhatsApp has led to multiple arrests in Karnataka following violence that erupted over the weekend in the state's Hubballi district. The 20-year-old student's status allegedly contained a morphed picture of a mosque with a saffron-coloured flag atop it - which led to unrest after it was circulated by his classmate in WhatsApp groups, among the Muslim community of Hubballi, according to an Indian Express report. A complaint was subsequently registered against the student, following which the police arrested him and his classmate. Over 40 other people were also reportedly taken into custody. MediaNama reached out to Labhu Ram, Commissioner of Police for Hubballi-Dharwad with the following questions : How did the police find the accused student and his classmate? When was the student arrested? Under what charges? Was the status taken down by him before 24 hours? Under what charges was his classmate, who circulated his WhatsApp status, arrested? When was the Whatsapp status uploaded, is it true it was a morphed picture of a saffron flag on a mosque? Did anyone else also upload such a picture, causing any incitement? We've learnt other people have also been arrested in the case. Could you tell us the charges? This is another in a growing line of incidents where content circulated on WhatsApp has spurred real-life violence in India. WhatsApp's new feature could increase misinformation, inauthentic behaviour On April 14, WhatsApp announced the launch of a new feature called 'Communities' which would allow bringing separate groups under…

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I cover health technology for MediaNama but, really, love all things tech policy. Always willing to chat with a reader! Reach me at anushka@medianama.com

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