Why India is in an uproar over WhatsApp chats

An advertisement from WhatsApp is seen in a newspaper at a stall in New Delhi, on Jan 13, 2021. PHOTO: AFP
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BANGALORE - As WhatsApp messages go, it seemed innocuous enough: "On Pakistan the government is confident of striking in a way that people will be elated. Exact words used." Except that the message was apparently sent by an Indian television anchor three days before Indian warplanes targeted militants in northern Pakistan in February 2019.

The airstrike later took pride of place in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's campaign in the 2019 general election, which his Bharatiya Janata Party won handily.

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