In grainy smartphone footage, two bloodied men can be seen seated on the ground as a large mob jostles around them.
"Don't kill me... please don't beat me," the hurt men plead. Shortly afterwards, both are dead.
The men were Nilotpal Das, 29, and his friend Abhijeet Nath, 30. The pair had been travelling through the Karbi Anglong district when they had been set upon and beaten to death by a large mob. The villagers had suspected them of being "child-lifters" because of viral rumours being circulated through the social media platform, WhatsApp.
Since April have been killed by angry mobs fuelled by hoaxes about child abduction that were spread through WhatsApp.
The parents of lynching victim Nilotpal Das speak to journalists at their residence in Guwahati. Source: BIJU BORO/AFP/Getty Images
The Indian government slammed the Facebook-owned messaging service for allowing the "irresponsible and explosive messages" to be shared.
“Such a platform cannot evade accountability and responsibility especially when good technological inventions are abused by some miscreants who resort to provocative messages which lead to spread of violence,” India’s Minister of Electronics and Information Technology said in a statement.
WhatsApp said it was "horrified" by the violence and promised action. On July 10 it took out a full-page advertisement in India's leading English and Hindi newspapers warning users about fake messages with "easy tips" on how to identify them. "Together we can fight false information," the adverts told readers.
The app also introduced a new feature that showed when a message had been "forwarded" to better assist users with knowing the source of the content they received.
Whatsapp now plans to put a limit on the number of people one can forward the message to, five at a time. The "Quick Forward" button next to the message could also be removed.
In India more than 200 million people use the WhatsApp messaging service - its largest market in the world; where, according to cyber expert, Himanshu Kikani, there has been a sharp rise in the prevalence of fake news stories.
WhatsApp published a full-page advertisements in Indian dailies on July 10 in a bid to counter fake information that has sparked mob lynching attacks. Source: PRAKASH SINGH/AFP/Getty Images
"Users hit the forward button without knowing or checking the facts behind the message," he told SBS Gujarati.
"The significant increase in the number of fake news stories has given rise to serious concerns."
Mr Kikani also emphasised that it wasn't just Indians in impoverished or rural regions being duped by fake news on social media.
"Recently these messages went viral and some educated people in India also spread the message," he said.
"I have seen that even a highly educated person may not be digitally literate."
While the cyber expert hopes the new "forwarded" feature will alleviate the spread of misinformation which has led to panic and paranoia among its Indian users, the country's authorities want WhatsApp to do more.
WhatsApp 'forwarded' feature. Source: WhatsApp.co.in
On Thursday, the Indian government again took aim at the platform, warning it that its new "forwarded" labelling feature wasn't enough.
"When rumours and fake news get propagated by mischief mongers, the medium used for such propagation cannot evade responsibility and accountability. If they remain mute spectators they are liable to be treated as abettors and thereafter face consequent legal action,” the IT ministry said a statement on Thursday.
Shortly afterwards WhatsApp responded by announcing a test . The move is likely to be a deterrent to the mass forwarding of messages, reported Reuters. Indians forward more messages, photos and videos than any other country in the world, according to WhatsApp.
Social responsibility as a user
In 2017 India was the fastest growing market for smartphones with close to half a billion Indians now online, most accessing the internet via their smartphones.
The sudden rise in internet access to the country's poorest and most isolated regions has consequently exacerbated India's already ongoing problem with mob violence and lynchings.
A protestor wears a badge showing Nilotpal Das (right) and Abhijit Nath (left) who were killed by mobs inflamed by social media. Source: AAP
Cyber expert Mr Kikani believes the way to combat this is through a social media savviness that puts the onus on users' social responsibility.
"The group administrators or the moderators of any WhatsApp group must be aware of the activities in the group. If any user publishes a message that can harm someone's emotions and religious beliefs, he/she must be blocked or removed from the group," he said.
Social media users needed to learn to challenge the truth and accuracy of the content on WhatsApp and social media, Mr Kikani stressed.
"Our one click may change someone's life."
