Aviv Ovadya, Columnist

How to Stop Misinformation

Rumors on WhatsApp have led to mob violence. Here’s how to prevent them — without sacrificing privacy.

January 25, 2019 at 10:30 AM UTC

Aviv Ovadya is the founder and chief executive officer of the Thoughtful Technology Project. He was formerly the chief technologist at the University of Michigan’s Center for Social Media Responsibility.

It’s a start.
Photographer: Prakash Singh/AFP/Getty Images

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Last July, an engineer at Accenture was beaten to death by a crowd that thought he was a child kidnapper. They were angry, violent and completely wrong. The rumors about the man were “fake news” spread on WhatsApp, an incredibly popular messaging service owned by Facebook.

In response, the Indian government now wants to force companies to take several steps — including breaking encryption — that could compromise privacy and security for their users. But what if there were a way to combat misinformation on the platform while still maintaining privacy?