WhatsApp to Limit Message Forwarding After Rumor-Led Violence in India
July 20 2018 - 9:48AM
Dow Jones News
By Krishna Pokharel
NEW DELHI -- Facebook Inc.'s WhatsApp messaging service is
making it harder for users world-wide to forward content after the
spread of rumors on the app led to mob violence and the killing of
more than 20 people in India.
False messages about roaming child-kidnapping gangs spread
through WhatsApp -- one of the most widely used apps in India with
over 200 million monthly active users -- have triggered a spate of
lynching as panicked groups attack strangers they find suspicious,
Indian authorities have said.
WhatsApp's announcement Thursday followed a new policy at
Facebook, which on Wednesday said it will begin removing
misinformation that could spark violence, starting in Sri Lanka and
Myanmar, which have also struggled with violence on the back of
false reports spread on social media.
The Indian government earlier this month asked WhatsApp to take
immediate action to stop the misuse of its platform, saying rumors
circulated on the messaging service had led to deadly attacks.
The Menlo Park, Calif.-based company said in a blog post that it
is putting restrictions on the number of groups to which a message
can be forwarded.
"Today, we're launching a test to limit forwarding that will
apply to everyone using WhatsApp," the WhatsApp blog said. "In
India -- where people forward more messages, photos, and videos
than any other country in the world -- we'll also test a lower
limit of 5 chats at once."
WhatsApp's blog post didn't provide further information about
what the limit on forwarding would be outside India. A spokesman
for WhatsApp didn't respond to queries emailed Friday
afternoon.
The company also said it was removing what it called the "quick
forward" button in India, which comes up on the side of media
content on the app. This means users will have to go through more
steps if they want to forward information.
In India, WhatsApp has published advertisements in major
newspapers with tips for its users to help them decide "if
something sent to you on WhatsApp is true." It also started
labeling forwarded messages on its platform to help users determine
if their "friend or relative wrote the message they sent or if it
originally came from someone else," the company wrote in a separate
blog post last week.
The steps taken so far by WhatsApp haven't been able to assuage
the Indian government, which said in a statement late Thursday that
"much more needs to be done."
"When rumours and fake news get propagated by mischief mongers,
the medium used for such propagation cannot evade responsibility
and accountability," the statement from India's Ministry of
Electronics and Information Technology said. "If they remain mute
spectators they are liable to be treated as abettors and thereafter
face consequent legal action," it added.
The ministry said it had asked WhatsApp to "come out with more
effective solutions that can bring in accountability and facilitate
enforcement of law."
Write to Krishna Pokharel at krishna.pokharel@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 20, 2018 09:33 ET (13:33 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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