Facebook says will curb hate speech as Indian states go to polls

Social media giant says it will ‘decrease the risk of problematic content going viral’ as five states hold elections.

Facebook has said it is taking steps to combat hate speech and misinformation in India as the world’s biggest democracy holds months-long multi-phase elections in four states and a federal territory. “We recognise that there are certain types of content, such as hate speech, that could lead to imminent, offline harm,” the social networking giant said in a blog post dated March 30. India is Facebook’s biggest market by users. Its WhatsApp chat service is among the most popular in the country, counting about 500 million users alone.