Rumors spread on social media fuel deadly India mob attacks
GAUHATI, India (AP) — The rumors circulated through the hills of northeastern India on Facebook and Whatsapp. There were photos of dismembered corpses in some messages, and of an injured child lying in the street.
The messages said hundreds of people, sometimes disguised as beggars, were stalking the towns and villages of India's Assam state, slipping into houses at night. One message said the outsiders were criminals. Another said they'd come from the poor, nearby state of Bihar. All said the gangs had one goal: kidnapping children.
"Be aware, people of Assam!" one message read.