#FactCheck - Old Japanese Earthquake Footage Falsely Linked to Tibet

Introduction 

As digital platforms rapidly become repositories of information related to health, YouTube has emerged as a trusted source people look to for answers. To counter rampant health misinformation online, the platform launched YouTube Health, a program aiming to make “high-quality health information available to all” by collaborating with health experts and content creators. While this is an effort in the right direction, the program needs to be tailored to the specificities of the Indian context if it aims to transform healthcare communication in the long run.

The Indian Digital Health Context 

India’s growing internet penetration and lack of accessible healthcare infrastructure, especially in rural areas, facilitates a reliance on digital platforms for health information. However, these, especially social media, are rife with misinformation. Supplemented by varying literacy levels, access disparities, and lack of digital awareness, health misinformation can lead to serious negative health outcomes. The report ‘Health Misinformation Vectors in India’ by DataLEADS suggests a growing reluctance surrounding conventional medicine, with people looking for affordable and accessible natural remedies instead. Social media helps facilitate this shift. However, media-sharing platforms such as WhatsApp, YouTube, and Facebook host a large chunk of health misinformation. The report identifies that cancer, reproductive health, vaccines, and lifestyle diseases are four key areas susceptible to misinformation in India.

YouTube’s Efforts in Promoting Credible Health Content 

YouTube Health aims to provide evidence-based health information with “digestible, compelling, and emotionally supportive health videos,” from leading experts to everyone irrespective of who they are or where they live. So far, it executes this vision through:

• Content Curation: The platform has health source information panels and content shelves highlighting videos regarding 140+ medical conditions from authority sources like All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Max Healthcare etc., whenever users search for health-related topics.
• Localization Strategies: The platform offers multilingual health content in regional languages such as Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam, Punjabi, and Bengali, apart from English. This is to help health information reach viewers across most of the country. 
• Verification of professionals: Healthcare professionals and organisations can apply to YouTube’s health feature for their videos to be authenticated as an authority health source on the platform and for their videos to show up on the ‘Health Sources’ shelf.

Challenges 

• Limited Reach: India has a diverse linguistic ecosystem. While health information is made available in over 8 languages, the number is not enough to reach everyone in the country. Efforts to reach more people in vernacular languages need to be ramped up. Further, while there were around 50 billion views of health content on YouTube in 2023, it is difficult to measure the on-ground outcomes of those views.
• Lack of Digital Literacy: Misinformation on digital platforms cannot be entirely curtailed owing to the way algorithms are designed to enhance user engagement. However, uploading authoritative health information as a solution may not be enough, if users lack awareness about misinformation and the need to critically evaluate and trust only credible sources. In India, this critical awareness remains largely underdeveloped.

Conclusion 

Considering that India has over 450 million users, by far the highest number of users in any country in the world, the platform has recognized that it can play a transformative role in the country’s digital health ecosystem. To accomplish its mission “to combat the societal threat of medical misinformation,” YouTube will have to continue to take several proactive measures. There is scope for strengthening collaborations with Indian public health agencies and trusted public figures, national and regional,  to provide credible health information to all.  The approach will have to be tailored to India’s vast linguistic diversity, by encouraging capacity-building for vernacular creators to produce credible content. Finally, multiple stakeholders will need to come together to promote digital literacy through education campaigns about identifying trustworthy sources.

Sources 

• https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/tech-news-technology/youtube-health-dr-garth-graham-interview-9746673/ 
• https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/cancer-misinformation-extremely-prevalent-in-india-trust-in-science-medicine-crucial-report/articleshow/115931783.cms?from=mdr 
• https://health.youtube/our-mission/ 
• https://health.youtube/features-application/ 
• https://backlinko.com/youtube-users 

Introduction

Charity and donation scams have continued to persist and are amplified in the digital era, where messages spread rapidly through WhatsApp, emails, and social media. These fraudulent schemes involve threat actors impersonating legitimate charities, government appeals, or social causes to solicit funds. Apart from targeting the general public, they also impact entities such as reputable tech firms and national institutions. Victims are tricked into transferring money or sharing personal information, often under the guise of urgent humanitarian efforts or causes.

A recent incident involves a fake WhatsApp message claiming to be from the Indian Ministry of Defence. The message urged users to donate to a fund for “modernising the Indian Army.” The government later confirmed this message was entirely fabricated and part of a larger scam. It emphasised that no such appeal had been issued by the Ministry, and urged citizens to verify such claims through official government portals before responding.

Tech Industry and Donation-Related Scams

Large corporations are also falling prey. According to media reports, an American IT company recently terminated around 700 Indian employees after uncovering a donation-related fraud. At least 200 of them were reportedly involved in a scheme linked to Telugu organisations in the US. The scam echoed a similar situation that had previously affected Apple, where Indian employees were fired after being implicated in donation fraud tied to the Telugu Association of North America (TANA). Investigations revealed that employees had made questionable donations to these groups in exchange for benefits such as visa support or employment favours.

Common People Targeted

While organisational scandals grab headlines, the common man remains equally or even more vulnerable. In a recent incident, a man lost over ₹1 lakh after clicking on a WhatsApp link asking for donations to a charity. Once he engaged with the link, the fraudsters manipulated him into making repeated transfers under various pretexts, ranging from processing fees to refund-related transactions (social engineering). Scammers often employ a similar set of tactics using urgency, emotional appeal, and impersonation of credible platforms to convince and deceive people.

Cautionary Steps

CyberPeace recommends adopting a cautious and informed approach when making charitable donations, especially online. Here are some key safety measures to follow:

1. Verify Before You Donate. Always double-check the legitimacy of donation appeals. Use official government portals or the official charities' websites. Be wary of unfamiliar phone numbers, email addresses, or WhatsApp forwards asking for money.
   
   
2. Avoid Clicking on Suspicious Links
   Never click on links or download attachments from unknown or unverified sources. These could be phishing links/ malware designed to steal your data or access your bank accounts.
   
   
3. Be Sceptical of Urgency Scammers bank on creating a false sense of urgency to pressure their victims into donating quickly. One must take the time to evaluate before responding.

4. Use Secure Payment Channels Ensure that one makes donations only through platforms that are secure, trusted, and verified. These include official UPI handles, government-backed portals (like PM CARES or Bharat Kosh), among others.
   
   
5. Report Suspected Fraud In case one receives suspicious messages or falls victim to a scam, they are encouraged to report it to cybercrime authorities via cybercrime.gov.in (1930) or the local police, as prompt reporting can prevent further fraud.
   

Conclusion

Charity should never come at the cost of trust and safety. While donating to a good cause is noble, doing it mindfully is essential in today’s scam-prone environment. Always remember: a little caution today can save a lot tomorrow.

References

• https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/misleading-message-circulating-on-whatsapp-related-to-donation-for-armys-modernisation-govt/articleshow/120672806.cms?from=mdr
• https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/tech-news/american-company-sacks-700-of-these-200-in-donation-scam-related-to-telugu-organisations-similar-to-firing-at-apple/articleshow/120075189.cms
• https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/apple-fires-some-indians-over-donation-fraud-tana-under-scrutiny/articleshow/117034457.cms
• https://www.indiatoday.in/technology/news/story/man-gets-link-for-donation-and-charity-on-whatsapp-loses-over-rs-1-lakh-after-clicking-on-it-2688616-2025-03-04 

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Introduction

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology recently released the IT Intermediary Guidelines 2023 Amendment for social media and online gaming. The notification is crucial when the Digital India Bill’s drafting is underway. There is no denying that this bill, part of a series of bills focused on amendments and adding new provisions, will significantly improve the dynamics of Cyberspace in India in terms of reporting, grievance redressal, accountability and protection of digital rights and duties.

What is the Amendment?

The amendment comes as a key feature of cyberspace as the bill introduces fact-checking, a crucial aspect of relating information on various platforms prevailing in cyberspace. Misformation and disinformation were seen rising significantly during the Covid-19 pandemic, and fact-checking was more important than ever. This has been taken into consideration by the policymakers and hence has been incorporated as part of the Intermediary guidelines. The key features of the guidelines are as follows –

• The phrase “online game,” which is now defined as “a game that is offered on the Internet and is accessible by a user through a computer resource or an intermediary,” has been added.
• A clause has been added that emphasises that if an online game poses a risk of harm to the user, intermediaries and complaint-handling systems must advise the user not to host, display, upload, modify, publish, transmit, store, update, or share any data related to that risky online game.
• A proviso to Rule 3(1)(f) has been added, which states that if an online gaming intermediary has provided users access to any legal online real money game, it must promptly notify its users of the change, within 24 hours.
• Sub-rules have been added to Rule 4 that focus on any legal online real money game and require large social media intermediaries to exercise further due diligence. In certain situations, online gaming intermediaries:

• Are required to display a demonstrable and obvious mark of verification of such online game by an online gaming self-regulatory organisation on such permitted online real money game
• Will not offer to finance themselves or allow financing to be provided by a third party.
• Verification of real money online gaming has been added to Rule 4-A.

• The Ministry may name as many self-regulatory organisations for online gaming as it deems necessary for confirming an online real-money game.
• Each online gaming self-regulatory body will prominently publish on its website/mobile application the procedure for filing complaints and the appropriate contact information.
• After reviewing an application, the self-regulatory authority may declare a real money online game to be a legal game if it is satisfied that:

• There is no wagering on the outcome of the game.
• Complies with the regulations governing the legal age at which a person can engage into a contract.
• The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 have a new rule 4-B (Applicability of certain obligations after an initial period) that states that the obligations of the rule under rules 3 and 4 will only apply to online games after a three-month period has passed.
• According to Rule 4-C (Obligations in Relation to Online Games Other Than Online Real Money Games), the Central Government may direct the intermediary to make necessary modifications without affecting the main idea if it deems it necessary in the interest of India’s sovereignty and integrity, the security of the State, or friendship with foreign States.
• Intermediaries, such as social media companies or internet service providers, will have to take action against such content identified by this unit or risk losing their “safe harbour” protections under Section 79 of the IT Act, which let intermediaries escape liability for what third parties post on their websites. This is problematic and unacceptable. Additionally, these notified revisions can circumvent the takedown order process described in Section 69A of the IT Act, 2000. They also violated the ruling in Shreya Singhal v. Union of India (2015), which established precise rules for content banning.
• The government cannot decide if any material is “fake” or “false” without a right of appeal or the ability for judicial monitoring since the power to do so could be abused to thwart examination or investigation by media groups. Government takedown orders have been issued for critical remarks or opinions posted on social media sites; most of the platforms have to abide by them, and just a few, like Twitter, have challenged them in court.

Conclusion

The new rules briefly cover the aspects of fact-checking, content takedown by Govt, and the relevance and scope of sections 69A and 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000. Hence, it is pertinent that the intermediaries maintain compliance with rules to ensure that the regulations are sustainable and efficient for the future. Despite these rules, the responsibility of the netizens cannot be neglected, and hence active civic participation coupled with such efficient regulations will go a long way in safeguarding the Indian cyber ecosystem.