Social media sites in image building overdrive ahead of elections

Don’t kill the messenger seems to be the slogan of all social media and digital platforms which have launched big image building and user education campaigns to create awareness about fake news and toxic content amid mounting pressure from the government.Facebook-owned messaging platform WhatsApp launched a nationwide campaign called “Share Joy, Not Rumours” in more than 10 languages across television, print, online media, and radio to help prevent the spread of rumours and fake news. Launched on 2 December, the first phase of advertisements will run through 10 January and the second phase will be launched in February 2019.This is the first TV campaign ever for WhatsApp and its goal is to educate people on how to spot fake news and not spread rumors. We will continue to expand our public education efforts leading up to the national elections in 2019, said a WhatsApp spokesperson.