Dharma Nudges: A Culturally Grounded Behavioral Intervention Framework for Misinformation Prevention in Indian Digital Ecosystems

Misinformation on WhatsApp and other Indian digital platforms has triggered communal violence, lynchings, health crises, and democratic erosion. Western accuracy nudges, effective in individualistic WEIRD populations, show limited or inconsistent impact in India due to cultural mismatch. This paper introduces "Dharma Nudges," a culturally grounded behavioral intervention framework that translates indigenous ethical concepts (dharma, satya, sidq, sach, loka-sangraha, guru-bhakti, pitṛ-dharma, and "log kya kahenge") into short, relatable prompts delivered at the moment of forwarding. Instead of asking "Is this accurate?", these nudges activate moral identity, anticipated social emotions (honor, shame, pride), and relational accountability through questions such as "सत्य बोलना हमारा धर्म है। क्या आपने जाँच की?" or "अमानत में खयानत नहीं करते। क्या आपने तस्दीक की?"

Grounded in moral-identity theory, dual-process models, and collectivist social psychology, Dharma Nudges outperform universal accuracy reminders in Indian family and community chats by aligning with relational truth concepts and high-context communication norms. The framework offers pluralistic, interfaith, and constitutional variants for Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Gandhian, and secular audiences. Initial mechanistic lab studies (2023-2025) and qualitative fieldwork support stronger activation of reflective pausing and identity-congruent restraint compared to standard nudges. Large-scale randomized field trials on WhatsApp are in preparation.

Keywords: Dharma Nudges, misinformation India, cultural nudges, behavioral interventions, WhatsApp misinformation, fake news prevention, relational accountability, moral identity, collectivist psychology, accuracy nudges India, sidq, satya, loka-sangraha, scientific temper nudge, Indian digital ecosystem, family WhatsApp groups, cross-cultural behavioral science, 2025