The Wrong Way to Fight Fake News

For online trolls, India might be the world’s fattest target. Nearly a billion people are registered to vote in the country’s upcoming elections, the largest in history. Meanwhile, India is one of the fastest-growing markets for social-media platforms and messaging apps. The potential for hoaxes, slander, rumors and sundry other misinformation to influence voters is vast. India’s efforts to combat that threat, however, risk undermining the very democracy they’re meant to save.

The challenge India faces is emblematic. Misinformation is upending politics and worsening tensions across the developing world. It has even contributed to violence, from the pogroms of Rohingya in Myanmar to lynchings in India sparked by rumors on WhatsApp. Several vulnerable democracies — including Afghanistan, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand — are also going to the polls this year. India’s approach to the problem is something of a test case.