HYDERABAD: Facebook-owned WhatsApp has a fake news problem and no one really knows how to solve it. At this point, the company appears to have even dropped plans to further develop a notification-based feature that was meant to limit the spread of fake messages and news via the messaging platform. Instead, it is expected to adopt a label to mark forward messages, say developers working closely with the app.
Fake messages spreading on social media, especially on Whatsapp, has been in the news not only in Telangana but also in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka recently. These messages, about a notorious gang of kidnappers and burglars on prowl, had caused quite a stir so much so that vigilante mobs had started patrolling in the night and at least five people were lynched to death by such mobs.
Unlike social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter where the source of the fake news can be traced to its point of origin, the encryption feature of the messaging app makes it impossible to identify the origin of the fake news. Earlier this year WhatsApp claimed to have crossed over 200 million daily users in India but the messaging app has been giving law enforcement agencies a tough time finding the source of the fake messages.
Earlier, in January, developers at Wabetainfo.com, a team of beta testers for Andriod, IoS, Windows and web applications had written in their blog that WhatsApp had been testing a feature to stop the spread of fake messages over the messaging app. The feature was a notification alert to a user if a particular forward message has been forwarded more than 25 times. The feature that was still under development has since been dropped.
WhatsApp is now mulling over adding a ‘Forwarded’ label that can be viewed by everyone and will appear in the message but will not have details of the first sender of the message. The feature is still being tested by developers across different platforms. Express spoke with a developer who was involved with the beta testing of the feature.
“This new feature wasn’t implemented to stop fake news,” said the developer from Wabetainfo, “It is only for knowing if a message has been forwarded. Unfortunately, there are no other plans to stop fake news through new WhatsApp features, and WhatsApp has abandoned that project because they considered the new Forward feature better.” TNIE reached out to WhatsApp for a comment but did not receive a response.
“The end-to-end encryption makes it impossible to intercept communications. For the law enforcement agencies trying to find out the origin of the fake information, that poses difficulties,” said Bharani Kumar Aroll, general secretary, Society for Cyber Security Council, “There is no need for a SIM card for WhatsApp to work, it is only needed for registration. Police can seek information from telecommunication companies but WhatsApp works on the Internet, thus making it more difficult for the police to track the culprits who spread fake messages,” he explained.
How to identify fake WhatsApp forwards
When your phone gets bombarded with a steady flow of WhatsApp messages, some of which are random forwards and others that claim to be the news, how can the common man spot the fake ones?
What is a fake
or hoax message?
A fake or a hoax message is the one that is based on a false story. The purpose of creating such messages is to trick people into pass it on to others so as to ensure that it reaches a mass audience
Consider the source
Who sent you WhatsApp message? Investigate a little before forwarding the message. Often, a Google search is enough to debunk most fake WhatsApp messages
Read beyond
Think critically about content of the message before forwarding it. Most times fake WhatsApp messages are written provocatively to ensure that they reach a mass audience
Check who sent it
Ask people where they got the forward from and if they have checked the information contained in the message to be true. If their answers do not satisfy your common sense, do not forward the message
Fake links
Some WhatsApp forward message claims to give rewards or offers and will mostly carry a link. One needs to first check authenticity of link
Fake videos
Often videos, some of which are violent in nature, get circulated as WhatsApp forward claiming to be from a locality near you. Check your local news media if such an incident has been reported