As the COVID-19 cases and worries rise every day, so does the misinformation. Social media services are trying their best to prevent the spread of false news. WhatsApp started from yesterday (April 8) to limit the forwarded messages in India. The Facebook-owned instant messaging chat has announced the restriction on frequently forwarded messages to diminish the spread of misinformation.
The messages that have been previously sent 5 times or more can now only be sent only to one chat at a time. WhatsApp, however, introduced the global limits on forwarded messages to restrain virality back in 2019. It also banned two million accounts/month for trying to send automated messages or spam.
WhatsApp Limits Message Forwarding
WhatsApp limits the message forwarding in India to prevent the misinformation. Users are assured that the instant messaging chat won’t snoop on your conversations at all. It will detect the misinformation only through metadata.
WhatsApp discussed a beta launch recently, too. Such a version will provide a measure to detect out more misinformation. The update will introduce a magnifying glass icon next to the frequently forwarded messages. Users will have a function to use and send that message to a web search to verify if it’s being mass spread or not on WhatsApp. The option is currently in testing and can help stop the spread of false news.
For users who want to find out the latest information about COVID-19, WhatsApp recently announced a hub in partnership with the WHO, UNDP, and UNICEF. The WhatsApp Coronavirus Information Pub is available for all users. The WHO Coronavirus Health Alert service and the MyGov Corona Helpdesk has been already launched. These three services are introduced to give official, reliable, and prompt information on COVID-19. Users can use them whenever they want and will receive the most accurate details.
