WhatsApp is currently the biggest source of the spread of fake news and misinformation related to the novel coronavirus. The Facebook-owned giant is working towards fixing the problem by limiting the frequently forwarded messages to one chat at a time. This will, if not stop, will at least slow down the pace at which these fake news messages are being spread. The company has already limited forward messages to five but with this update, it has been narrowed down to just one message at a time.
Coronavirus is the only thing that most people are cared about today as it is a deadly virus that has taken over 100 lives in India already. As people are already nervous, they tend to believe anything shown to them on WhatsApp. These WhatsApp forwards include fake coverage and misinformation including the medicines that can cure the virus and even suggest some fraud-related apps and websites.
WhastApp said in a statement, "We are now introducing a limit so that these messages can only be forwarded to one chat at a time. We set limits on forwarded messages to constrain virality which led to a 25 per cent decrease in message forwards globally at the time."
WhatsApp has added this feature on the latest update of the Android and iOS app. As mentioned above, after updating the app, the users will be restricted from sending a frequently forwarded message to more than one user at a time. So, in order to send a message to multiple users, the user should either go to every chat and copy-paste the message or forward it one by one.
Meanwhile, the company is also working with the World Health Organization (WHO), to provide the right information to the users. They are also working with over 20 national health ministries, to help connect people with accurate information. To make sure the correct information is delivered, they have started WhatsApp Coronavirus Information Hub.
Also, the company released the Advanced Search feature recently, whcih basically allows users to search the message online and check if the news is fake or real.
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