The company said that the co-created curriculum encourages people to be mindful about forwarding rumors. The training will include real-world anecdotes, tools that can be used to verify a forward and actions users can take like reporting problematic content to fact checkers and law enforcement. The curriculum will be disseminated in multiple regional languages.
Ashok Pamidi, CEO, NASSCOM Foundation, said, “The use of technology platforms like WhatsApp are inherently meant to foster social good, harmony, and collaboration, but are sadly being used by a small number of miscreants to entice anger and hatred by spreading false and doctored information. Through this partnership with WhatsApp, we hope to enable all of India’s connected citizens to identify a piece of probable fake information while also sensitizing them on the possible impact of its further amplification.”
Aspiring volunteers can register at www.mykartavya.nasscomfoundation.org
Abhijit Bose, head of India, WhatsApp, said: “We are excited to expand our partnerships with civil society to advance crucial digital literacy skills that can help combat misinformation share on WhatsApp. This training educates people throughout India to be mindful of the messages they receive and to verify the facts before forwarding.”