In an attempt to curb the spread of misinformation on COVID-19, WhatsApp, the popular messaging app owned by Facebook, has decided to limit the number of forwarded messages to only one chat at a time.
WhatsApp said this will be applicable to frequently forwarded messages. This means the limit will kick in once a message has been forwarded five times or more. The restriction came into effect on Tuesday.
The new feature has been introduced to slow down the spread of misinformation.
“We’ve seen a significant increase in the amount of forwarding which users have told us can 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,” stated the WhatsApp blog.
The blog noted that WhatsApp is working directly with NGOs and governments, including the World Health Organization and over 20 national health ministries, to help connect people with accurate information. “Together these trusted authorities have sent hundreds of millions of messages directly to people requesting information and advice,” it said.
Economic Times reported that WhatsApp is beta testing a feature to empower users to find out more information about a forwarded message. Users can find a magnifying lens icon on the frequently forwarded message. This will provide users to send the message to a web search where they can find news results or other sources of information.
WhatsApp has been confronting the issue of misinformation in India, which has a huge customer base of 400 million.
In January 2019, a few months before the Lok Sabha elections, WhatsApp limited the number of forward message to just five to check the spread of misinformation.
