try and regain control. The incident was captured by media reports and eyewitness recordings. Days later, police brought charges of rioting, damage to public property and arson against 70 people. A peacekeeping meeting between the two religious communities was also held. Then, on August 27, local authorities ordered a shutdown of mobile internet connections in the area from 06:00 until 14:00 to stop the spread of online rumours about the alleged attack and subsequent unrest. But the real target of the shutdown wasn’t the internet as a whole, it was WhatsApp.


Fake news and misinformation are intrinsically linked with WhatsApp in India. With 200 million monthly active users, India is WhatsApp’s biggest market. It is also one of its most problematic. During the last year more than 30 deathsAnd in India, fake news spreads on WhatsApp.


As Turkey went to the polls, a global network was mapping online censorship in real-time Privacy As Turkey went to the polls, a global network was mapping online censorship in real-time

"Provocative audio and video messages were getting shared on social media sites," local district magistrate Amrit Tripathi told The Times of India after the street mob formed in Shahjahanpur. "The rumour about the death of an injured girl could have disrupted the peaceful environment," Tripathi continued. As part of the police investigation, three people were arrested for sharing messages on WhatsApp, including one group administrator.

Shutdowns based on the spread of fake news and rumours are happening across India. In August, internet connections in the Pune district of Maharashtra were shutdown to