WhatsApp Launches New Feature to Curb Fake News
Forwarded messages are every WhatsApp users nightmare who is in a group. The regular messages and the picture forwarding can truly be really annoying. With forwarded messages is yet another problem.
Fake news. Recently, individuals were killed on the basis of fake messages that were shared via the platform, and that is some serious trouble right there.
People dying over fake messages shouldn’t be something that is happening and also to note that these people were all innocent. Social networking and sharing platforms are all revising their privacy settings and features to curb fake news and information from circulating.
Facebook especially has been brought under fire for not just privacy, but the sharing of fake news. And it seems that Facebook has taken this backlash pretty seriously. A huge amount of fake information and news is being circulated within WhatsApp, and this is a growing problem. Well, the company has taken over charge.
Features
WhatsApp is now releasing a new feature on Android and iOS devices that label forwarded messages as a warning that the message is forwarded, and it might very well be a fake message. Though this feature was first available on the beta version of the app, the feature is now available on the official application.
This is a step that is very important both for the company and the users. For the company, they can confidently say that steps have been taken to curb fake information and news, and users can also be safe and avoid all the fake news. Though this move has been criticised by many, frankly this is the maximum on what the company can do.
Facebook is not allowed to read chats as they are encrypted, and so labeling fake news from the real news is out of the picture. By labeling forwarded messages, the app can at least now give a fair warning, and then the rest can be left up to the discretion of the reader.
WhatsApp recently took to advertising uses, and the company even went ahead and bought full-page ads in India, which is a first for the company. The ads were on how to identify fake news, and what can be done as a community to stop fake news from spreading.
Urgency
This much attention has been given to the spread of fake news after the recent incident of killings that were reported in India. These killings were based on fake news that was circulated within the app that was about the kidnapping of children. An innocent person was dragged through the streets and beaten to death.
The Indian Government has also taken this grave misuse of technology into account, and even published an open letter to the company that stated in part, “It has also been pointed out that such a platform cannot evade accountability and responsibility especially when good technological inventions are abused by some miscreants who resort to provocative messages which lead to the spread of violence.”
This new update from WhatsApp is not just for India but is for everyone around the world. The company has stated that this feature is available in the latest feature of the app.
