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WhatsApp Test Reverse Image Search And In-App Browser To Fight Fake News

WhatsApp, the app owned by Facebook, is trying to prevent the spread of even more fake news by testing some new features in a bid. To help that even further, WABetaInfo said that the developers of the app are testing a couple of new functions such as reverse image search and the in-app browser.

We will not talk too much about the in-app browser because its name basically gives away its features, but to make sure that everybody has figured out what to expect, we will say that this function will allow you to open links sent within chats without the necessity of leaving the core application.

We must also mention that when you are using this WhatsApp in-app browser, you will not be able to record your display or even take a screenshot of it. You will get a warning pop-up in case you will be trying to open a web page that is considered by the app to be harmful to your device.

WhatsApp Test Reverse Image Search And In-App Browser To Fight Fake News

WhatsApp is also testing another core feature, that being the ability to perform a reverse image search, again, without leaving the application, according to WABetaInfo. This way, in case someone has sent you an image which is fake, you will be able to check that in order to make sure whether it is actually real.

Of course, the spread of fake news can’t be stopped only by this, but it might be a factor that will help prevent the spread of fake images that would generate unwarranted attention.

Whether these features will actually be fully released in WhatsApp is still unknown, but we can at least hope it will happen. WhatsApp Beta app users all around the world are now allowed to test these features themselves.

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WhatsApp Update To Limit Message Forwarding to Reduce Misinformation

With an update, WhatsApp will limit message forwarding to five, in its efforts to reduce misinformation and fake news, as reported the executives of the most popular instant messaging application. Until now, users could resend a message to up to 20 contacts. Now, however, in a measure that continues the one taken in July across India, Whats app limited message forwarding to five.

“We’re imposing a limit of five messages all over the world as of today,” explained Victoria Grand, vice-president for policy and communications at WhatsApp.

WhatsApp is the most popular instant messaging app on Android and iOS, totaling more than 1.5 billion users. Its popularity, however, also attracted some people to promote fake news and misinformation. WhatsApp acknowledged that and took some measures to tackle this trend. With an update, WhatsApp plans to limit message forwarding to five, trying to deal with misinformation and false rumors.

WhatsApp Update To Limit Message Forwarding to Reduce Misinformation

WhatsApp allows users to text their contacts, initiate voice calls and video calls, and share files such as images, videos, and documents, among others. It became popular in the last years, mainly thanks to the many improvements Facebook has implemented to the app since Zuckerberg’s company bought WhatsApp in 2014.

However, recently many scandals surrounded WhatsApp. In October 2018, during Brazil’s presidential election, Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right candidate, reportedly used WhatsApp to spread fake news regarding its direct opponent. Also, in early 2018, Indians used WhatsApp to share misinformation.

Due to the before-mentioned cases and other similar ones worldwide, WhatsApp executives decided to take stricter measures against WhatsApp use for spreading fake news and rumors. Accordingly, via a WhatsApp update, which started to roll out yesterday, the devs will limit message forwarding to only five in order to reduce misinformation and tackle fake news propaganda.

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