WhatsApp limits message forwarding to one person at a time to fight coronavirus fake news

In a bid to reduce the spread of fake news during this coronavirus pandemic, WhatsApp is introducing a limit so that these messages can only be forwarded to one chat at a time.

This means that when you receive a frequently forwarded message and it has been forwarded more than five times, you will only be able to send it to one person at a time. This is a further restriction on the limit imposed last year where the users could only forward a message to five people.

Though this new limit does not entirely prevent widespread forwarding, since ultimately a message can be passed on if a user is happy to hit the forward button as many times as he wants. However it should slow down some of the most viral messages on its platform such as the conspiracy theory about a link between 5G and coronavirus.

The social media giant acknowledges that it isn’t against forwarding but it has seen a significant increase in the amount of forwarding which is overwhelming to its 2 billion users.

In its words in the post, “Is all forwarding bad? Certainly not. We know many users forward helpful information, as well as funny videos, memes, and reflections or prayers they find meaningful. In recent weeks, people have also used WhatsApp to organize public moments of support for frontline health workers. However, 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.”

The Facebook company says it is continuously revising its operations to ensure users get the right information. Some days ago, it partnered with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to launch a Health Alert service on its platform to ensure people around the world get official, trusted health information and advice about the coronavirus (COVID-19). The service has already reached more than 10 million users, days after its launch.