WhatsApp sets limit to the forwarding of messages as possibility of users misinforming other users increases.
WhatsApp sets limit to the forwarding of messages due to the surge in the possibility of users spreading falsehood and misinforming other users of the corona virus or anything relating to it. On Tuesday, WhatsApp said it will put in place new limits so that messages tagged “highly forwarded” meaning it has been sent through a chain of 5 people, will only be made possible to be forwarded to one person. This measure is to reduce the speed with which information moves around on WhatsApp. This will definately put truth and friction on an even footing.
2018 came with WhatsApp experimenting limiting the number of times a message can be forwarded. It labelled forwarded messages by adding two arrows. Then it added a limit of the number of people you can forward a message, to 5.
It’s a soft limit: nothing prevents you from forwarding the same message over and over again to different people. But introducing more friction helped to slow the rate of forwarding overall — in the past year, WhatsApp says, forwards are down 25 percent around the world.
This hasn’t stopped people from spreading falsehood and misinforming other users. Oj the covid-19 subject, the app has been used to spread a variety of false information that relate to cures and hoaxes about military-related activities.
In response, WhatsApp promoted a bot made by the World Health Organization that provides information about the disease that has been vetted by healthcare professionals. The app has been used by more than 10 million people. WhatsApp also donated $1 million to the International Fact-Checking Network.