Coronavirus: WhatsApp restricts forwarding viral messages to curb spreading of false news

It was on March 22, 2020 that the entire nation, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address, went under a complete lockdown. However, despite the lockdown, the number of cases testing positive for the virus has been on a surge. As we speak, Maharashtra has become the first state in the country to report more than 1000 Coronavirus cases. From Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, to Haryana and other states, every state is witnessing a surge in the number of cases. Now as the novel Coronavirus spreads in India like wildfire, people are rushing to medical stores to buy face masks and hand sanitisers. As a result, the demand for masks and sanitisers has surged and as a matter of fact, the prices have surged, too.

Now in today’s day and age, wherein it takes minutes for news to go viral on social media, it is very easy for people to believe false news, and therefore, as per reports, WhatsApp is introducing new limits on forwarding messages to slow down the spread of misinformation and not let people panic unnecessarily. As per reports, any message or piece of content that has been forwarded more than five times can only be forwarded to a single person or a group at a time. Given the current scenario, WhatsApp is doing everything in its capacity to slow down the spread of false  news, and while the change doesn’t stop people from forwarding a message to multiple users individually. “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,” WhatsApp said in a blog post published Tuesday. “We believe it’s important to slow the spread of these messages to keep WhatsApp a place for personal conversation.”Well, we totally agree to it because at such a time, it only takes on false news to create panic and since the doctors and government is working towards a brighter future, as a common man, all we can do is stay indoors and not spread false news.

Ever since the lockdown, it is only natural on everyone’s part to panic after reading news and therefore, at such a critical time, what is important is that people should not be fed with false news. Sadly, due to false news, people are panicking reading information online as they don’t know how to filter between correct and false information. Now WhatsApp is used by more than 2 billion users around the world and since rumors about the Coronavirus outbreak are rampant online and on messaging apps like WhatsApp, WhatsApp has introduced new limits on forwarding messages. Now at a time when people are strictly staying indoors, they tend to watch television more, and read online in order to stay updated and therefore, it is very important to filter out information. For an example, one of the forwards that went viral on WhatsApp, claimed that four people sick with COVID-19, got worse after taking anti-inflammatory drugs, however, this claim was later dismissed. We all know that WhatsApp’s largest market is India as it caters to more than 200 million users, and at such a critical time, government agencies are doing everything possible to ensure that people don’t fall prey to false news vis-a-via Coronavirus. Back in 2018, WhatsApp first imposed limits on forwarding after a series of lynchings in India led to the deaths of more than 30 innocent people. As per reports, the health ministry officials have, time and again, highlighted the significance of the lockdown and social distancing measures in order to contain the spread of the Coronavirus and as per a recent study by ICMR, it claims that a person who has been tested positive for the novel Coronavirus, can end up infecting over 400 others. India is under complete lockdown since March 25 for 21 days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked citizens to stay indoors to control the pandemic, however, certain states are writing to the PM to request him to extend the lockdown in order to curb the virus. As a matter of fact, a decision is pending on a possible extension to the three-week nationwide lockdown.

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