AI Escalates Misinformation in India

posted  20 Apr 2024
Photo - AI Escalates Misinformation in India
As India enters a six-week electoral period, misinformation is on the rise. According to Pratik Sinha, co-founder of the Indian fact-checking website Alt News, this misinformation is particularly aimed at dividing society and often targets specific communities on social media.

Artificial intelligence and India's vast linguistic diversity are pinpointed as key obstacles to the swift fact-checking and refutation of misinformation. A typical disinformation tactic is the circulation of videos featuring celebrities falsely endorsing political parties.

Efforts by the Indian government to curb these false narratives have been hindered by challenges in implementing broad censorship without infringing on freedoms. Moreover, analysts suggest that tech companies are reluctant to improve their automated information monitoring systems.
You don’t want to have laws or rules that are so vague, that are so broad that they can be interpreted,
commented Prateek Waghre, executive director of the Internet Freedom Foundation.