A coin has two faces. While one side enlightens us, the other remains in dark. But, is it always the scenario? Every invention has both pros and cons and it doesn’t take much time for mankind to exploit those cons. While some people try to make the world a better place, others using the same power try to destroy it. Our world is going through a very big crisis right now. Every nation is fighting against the deadly coronavirus. These are vulnerable times when we expect everyone to be sensible. Everyone has a right to know the true facts about this pandemic. Similarly, it is our duty to spread the right message and not initiate violence by circulating rumors. And, no one by common people spread this news via social media. Whatsapp, one of the most popular social media platforms has reported that rumors related to coronavirus are spreading exponentially. When a person is receiving such a message they are forwarding it to as many contacts as possible. So, this leads to extreme misunderstandings molding misconceptions.
What will Whatsapp do?
Seeing the rumors spread like a wildfire, Whatsapp needed to land on a conclusion at the earliest. Whatsapp declared that from now on a person can forward one message to only one contact at a time. Previously, the number was five but to the urgent crisis, it has been dragged down to one. Because the wrong information has a very big potential to start some other form of violence. And, welcoming another war is the last thing our world needs right now.
The company has explained that bringing the number down to one will not completely stop this chain. But, due to the increase in friction lesser people will get the wrong information. It also said that the company has witnessed violence in previous years due to the spread of rumors. One of the biggest examples is the false news of child kidnappers in India in April 2018. Many people were killed due to these shady and false messages. So, the company is trying its best to not repeat its history.
We share other news too
We share almost every kind of content through the platform of Whatsapp. It includes long messages, GIFs, pictures, audio, and video. Apart from the platform serving as a personal way of communicating, it is also a huge source of entertainment. We keep sharing memes, funny videos, helpful information, etc all the time. But, we stop the misuse of Whatsapp on spreading false information, sharing of harmless documents has been compromised as well.
If Whatsapp identifies any message as “highly forwarded”, that is messages sent through more than five chains will be forwarded only to one. The users have also said that the rate at which wrong information is spreading can be very overwhelming. So, it’s better to take a step at the earliest. The problem is when a person is forwarding a message, there is a high chance he isn’t aware of its transparency. And, many of them don’t bother to verify if it’s wrong or right. This increases the chance of spreading rumors.
Whatsapp took precautions before this
It’s not only the rumors of COVID-19 that is spreading like wildfire through Whatsapp. Previously, when Whatsapp noticed for the first time that such misuse of the app is taking place, they took a step. They reduced the number of forwarding contacts from 256 to directly 5. This took place only in India whereas globally it was reduced to 20. But, it helped in reducing the potential degree of harm significantly. But, the outbreak has led to a decrease in that number to one.
It’s for our own good
Whatsapp also said that it is not like you can forward one message to a single person only. It is just hindering the process of sending it to 5 people at a single time. This way it will help reduce the number of forwarded messages. Since, Whatsapp first experimented with it in 2018, after one year the rate has reduced by 25%. It means the strategy is working to slow down the pace of misleading information.
Last month, much false news related to the “cure” of COVID-19 was forwarded along with the connection of military to it. So, apart from the company taking steps, it is a request to the people to think more logically and sensibly.
Annasha Dey is an NIT student, who apart from studying engineering is also a content writer. She has a great interest in photography, writing, reading novels, and travelling as well. She is a foodie who loves socializing and hanging out with her friends. She is also a trained Kathak dancer and a big fashion enthusiast. Dey also loves watching TV series, which includes F.R.I.E.N.D.S. and Big Bang Theory. To be a better writer she prefers to read more