ISLAMABAD – Facebook Inc’s WhatsApp tightened message forwarding limits onTuesday, restricting users to sharing forwarded content one chat at a timeafter a jump in messages touting bogus medical advice since the start ofthe coronavirus crisis.
The pandemic, which has killed more than 70,000 people worldwide, has beenaccompanied by what the World Health Organisation (WHO) has called an“infodemic” of misinformation, prompting governments and other authoritiesto urge social media companies to do more to combat the problem.
WhatsApp, which has more than 2 billion users worldwide, said in a blogpost it made the change after observing a “significant increase” in thenumber of forwards since the start of the coronavirus crisis.
“We believe it’s important to slow the spread of these messages down tokeep WhatsApp a place for personal conversation,” the statement said.
A WhatsApp spokesman said the new limit was in place indefinitely.
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The service has been imposing gradual curbs on message forwarding since2018, after viral rumours on its platform triggered a wave of mass beatingsand deaths in India.
Since last year, users have been able to forward a message to only fiveindividuals or groups at once, down from an earlier limit of 20. The appalso labelled any messages that had been forwarded more than five times.
Facebook and Twitter have responded to the deluge of inaccurate medicalinformation posted in recent months by barring users from postingmisleading information about the coronavirus, including denials of expertguidance and encouragement of fake treatments.
