This seems strikingly similar to another Indian story from a few years ago in which a man was lynched by a mob after a rumor falsely alleged that he had eaten b

This seems strikingly similar to another Indian story from a few years ago in which a man was lynched by a mob after a rumor falsely alleged that he had eaten beef. (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/09/indian-mob-kills-man-cow-slaughter-rumour-150930193719666.html https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/09/indian-mob-kills-man-...) That time Whatsapp was not involved at all, yet the rumor spread just the same. This seems to be a case of treating the symptom, and not the problem. For example: >Sukanta Chakraborty, 33, a tabla musician with a sonorous voice who was paid about $8 a day to travel from village to village in a van equipped with a loudspeaker, warning about the dangers of fake news. He and two others were beset by a mob wielding bricks and bamboo sticks in a crowded market Thursday. In this case, the mob attacked him for trying to get the mobs to question their accepted beliefs (that child traffickers are rampant, and can be identified through Whatsapp), which is a pattern of behavior found in similarly situated groups through history, for example, the witch trials. Much like the witch trials, there are likely causal explanations for these villager's behaviors. For example, the witch trials are suspected to be a reaction to the citizen's fears of brutal native attacks that were happening around that time. Perhaps the Indian gov't should look to identify and fix the situation making these people fearful and violent, not just plug up the tubes with legislation that will cause them to revert back to old-fashioned rumor spreading.