Like any unusual situation, the discovery and spread of the coronavirus is the source of much false information, whether it concerns 5G or miracle treatments.
The networks have an important role in the dissemination of these fake news which sometimes leads to real harmful actions. In the U.K, for example, several 5G pylons have been set on fire by activists who claim that they are contributing to the spread of the virus. Whether on the initiative of governments or on their own, some social platforms are taking steps to stem this flow of false information.
WhatsApp fights against disinformation
This is the case of WhatsApp. It’s one of the most common tools to spread fake news in this very special type of situation. The Facebook-owned messaging app is currently working on a new feature, which will launch in the few coming days. This would aim to prevent the excessive transfer of the same message.
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More specifically, WhatsApp said it would be impossible to forward a message five or more times to its contacts. If the user wants to exceed this limit, he will not be able to transfer the content to more than one contact at a time.
Is all forwarding bad? Certainly not,” the company wrote in a blog post today. “However, we’ve seen a significant increase in the amount of forwarding. The users have told us they feel overwhelming and can contribute to the spread of misinformation. We believe it’s important to slow the spread of these messages down to keep WhatsApp a place for personal conversation.”
This is not the first time that WhatsApp has tightened its measures with regard to the massive dissemination of information around the world. The platform therefore regularly announces new features aimed at reducing the mass sharing of fake news. However, we will keep you updated with the news regarding these measures.
Well, people want solution? Stop using this limited-in-everything sh!tty app and start using Telegram which is billion of years better in everything.