WhatsApp labeling forwarded messages in effort to fight falsehood

Rappler.com

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WhatsApp labeling forwarded messages in effort to fight falsehood
The feature aims to help users determine if their friends or relatives sent them a message they crafted themselves or if they got it from elsewhere, with the hope of fostering habits about thinking before sharing forwarded messages

MANILA, Philippines – In an effort to combat hoaxes, false news reports, and other online shenanigans shared on messaging service WhatsApp, the company announced on Tuesday, July 10, it was going to indicate which messages a user gets were forwarded messages. 

The blog post from Whatsapp said the feature aims to help users determine if their friends or relatives sent them a message they crafted themselves or if they got it from elsewhere.

A report from Poynter added the label “will apply to text, image, video and audio messages globally.” 

In doing this, WhatsApp aims to foster habits about thinking before sharing forwarded messages.

Poynter added WhatsApp may have also taken from the public relations playbook of Facebook by launching its own education campaign in India to help users spot fake news reports on WhatsApp, beginning with full-page advertisements in a number of languages on newspapers in the country. 


The labeling feature is available on the latest supported version of WhatsApp on your phone. – Rappler.com

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