The coming wave of technology and tools is only going to exacerbate these problems further.
One small thing that whatsapp could potentially do is to make it a little bit harder to forward messages to everyone. force people to wait a couple of seconds before adding another person.
Personally, I've only ever received jokes an memes that were forwarded...
"until deaths due to fake news have stopped completely" will/should never happen.
You are asking for censorship by state. Not sure how/why anyone would ask for such a measure, instead of asking the responsible state govts in India to improve the Law and Order situation.
When there's is a hint of crime or a need for medical attention, in the US, first thing a person thinks of is calling 911.
In India, first thing a person thinks of is, how he/she can address the situation, because <insert emergency service here> will never reach on time nor be of any help.
Most riots in India flame up due to false news. Whatsapp is just a medium that is super efficient in spreading such false news.
Dont shoot the Messenger/Whatsapp etc. Ask for better reforms!
One of these is not like the others.