New feature on whatsapp to curb fake news that have lead to misinformation and death

WhatsApp has more than 1.2 billion monthly active users globally, so cracking down on dodgy messages is important.

The messaging application made the move public on Tuesday through its official blog following calls from various parts of the world, including India, to tackle the spread of fake news.

You can now say goodbye to annoying broadcast messages from your friends on WhatsApp, as WhatsApp just introduced a new feature designed to help its users identify the origin of information that they receive in the messaging app.

This may seem like a small move for the messaging platform, but this move is potentially one that will make a big difference in the way people spread information, especially wrong information over the app.

The Updated version of WhatsApp includes the feature, which marks forwarded messages in italics right above the content of the message.

Last week, India’s Information Technology Ministry issued a warning to WhatsApp specifically:

” Instances of the lynching of innocent people have been noticed recently because of a large number of irresponsible and explosive messages filled with rumours and provocation are being circulated on WhatsApp. The unfortunate killing in many states such, as Assam, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tripura and west Bengals are deeply painful and regrettable.

While the Law and order machinery is taking steps to apprehend the culprits, the abuse of platform like WhatsApp for repeated circulation of such provocative content is equally a matter of deep concern.

In the statement, the platform, owned by Facebook, said, “Starting today, WhatsApp will indicate which messages you receive, have been forwarded to you.

The Suspicious Link Detection feature is currently under testing that will curb spam messages on the WhatsApp platform. The new feature is available on the WhatsApp Beta version 2.18.204 for the Android users.

“This extra context will help make one-on-one and group chats easier to follow,” WhatsApp said in a blog.

“It also helps you determine if your friend or relative wrote the message they sent or if it originally came from someone else.

“To see this new forwarded label, you need to have the latest supported version of WhatsApp on your phone,” WhatsApp added.

While replying a notice by the Indian government to take immediate measures to prevent misuse of its platform, WhatsApp had said that it was testing a new label that highlights when a message has been forwarded.


“This could serve as an important signal for recipients to think twice before forwarding messages.

“Because it lets a user know if content they received was written by the person they know or a potential rumour from someone else,” it had said.

In its blog, the instant messaging application added, “WhatsApp cares deeply about your safety.

“We encourage you to think before sharing messages that were forwarded. As a reminder, you can report spam or block a contact in one tap and can always reach out to WhatsApp directly for help.”

The company had last month also announced “unrestricted monetary awards” for research on spread of misinformation on its platform to address the problem.



The question, however, remains: will this feature help the platform battle false news?