WhatsApp is one of the most active platforms in the dissemination of fake news and misinformation, although this could change in the near future. The messaging platform is working on developing a feature that would allow users to verify any forwarded messages.
According to reports from a cybersecurity firm, WhatsApp will soon launch a feature to check the number of times a message has been sent, thus planning to reduce the flow of fake news by the platform.
In the past few months it was rumored that WhatsApp would implement a function to check if an image was authentic or edited, although the company never released it. However, this occasion is expected to be different.
This mechanism is expected to work like this: When a user receives a message forwarded in WhatsApp, a search icon will appear next to the text. When you select the icon, the app will display the “Search in Google” option to verify that the message has not been copied and pasted from another platform.
Although there is still no possible release date or more details, it is mentioned that WhatsApp will first implement the feature for Android users and subsequently will also be deployed for iOS devices. Setting a limit to the number of times a message can be forwarded was the first important step WhatsApp took to combat the circulation of misinformation. The global crisis arising from the coronavirus/COVID-19 outbreak has increased the volume of fake news circulating on a daily basis on the network, so these kinds of measures are more important than ever, they consider cybersecurity specialists.
Other platforms are also trying to combat this practice. Twitter, for its part, posted a detailed list of the type of posts (tweets) that will be deleted as spam or fake news.
He is a cyber security and malware researcher. He studied Computer Science and started working as a cyber security analyst in 2006. He is actively working as an cyber security investigator. He also worked for different security companies. His everyday job includes researching about new cyber security incidents. Also he has deep level of knowledge in enterprise security implementation.