Nidhi, a 26-year-old from New Delhi, distanced herself from her uncle over his dissemination of anti-Muslim misinformation in family chats, marking a significant shift in their once-close relationship. Similar issues affected 19-year-old Armaan from Mumbai, who faced backlash for challenging disinformation. Both expressed the mental toll of engaging with toxic content online, highlighting the destructive impact of false narratives on familial bonds, especially within WhatsApp groups that dominate communication in India.
He would forward what was clearly false information, twisted historical facts to fit a certain kind of propaganda... he once sent a message calling people from the Muslim community "infiltrators" and that was it for me.
The chats had become toxic. I was exposed to them almost daily and that made me feel a lot of anger. If you didn't fully trust the information yourself why would you send it ahead?
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