WhatsApp has already done a lot in the past to curb the spread of fake news on its platform. But sadly, it looks like nothing can stop these fake forwarded messages that we come across on various groups. And now that the coronavirus pandemic is affecting countries all over the world, it's crucial to curb the spread of fake news.

Well, in an effort to limit fake news, WhatsApp is introducing a new limit on forwarding messages, making it a lot more difficult or rather tedious to forward messages. 

© Reuters

With this new limit in place, users can now forward a message to only one chat at a time. WhatsApp will automatically detect if/when you forward a particular message more than 5 times and limit you from forwarding that to more users at a time.

WhatsApp is using metadata to identify the number of times a message has been forwarded, so there's nothing to worry about them going through your messages. Here's what WhatsApp says in its blog post -

"However, weâve 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 itâs important to slow the spread of these messages down to keep WhatsApp a place for personal conversations."

© Reuters

This particular feature will join the existing efforts of the company to curb fake news. Back in 2018, WhatsApp began labeling forwarded messages when things started getting out of hands. We're glad that WhatsApp is constantly on the lookout for ways to make things better and improve its apps. In case you missed it, you can simply use WhatsApp to get accurate and prompt info about Coronavirus from WHO. More of such cool features, please!

Source: WhatsApp

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