CENSORSHIP: The Indian government has been trying to block social media accounts and websites that it blames for spreading panic. It began interfering with hundreds of websites and ordered telephone companies to restrict mass text messages.

THE SPARK: Earlier this month, thousands of people from the country’s remote northeast began fleeing cities in southern and western India, as rumors swirled that they would be attacked. The government said the rumors were fed by gory images that were actually manipulated photos of people killed in cyclones and earthquakes.

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