It will also be presented at the American Political Science Association’s conference in Washington DC later this year.“We are the only team here (in India) working on political behaviour. We are trying to study how fake news influences politics and ethnic and caste relations. Because BJP is banking on that strategy,” said Banerjee.“The loosely affiliated BJP groups on WhatsApp focus a lot on identity messages. What kind of fake news messages work in influencing voters? This is a first of its kind project being done on political behaviour and fake news in India,” he added.Last year, WhatsApp granted $ 1 million to 20 research teams across the world to fight fake news through different projects.

Source: Economic Times May 09, 2019 03:45 UTC