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Thursday, 12 July 2018

WhatsApp introduces new “forwarded message” feature in India to address fake news

WhatsApp introduces new “forwarded message” feature in India to address fake news: WhatsApp has rolled out a new feature that notifies users in India — the biggest market for WhatsApp in the world — when a message they have received was forwarded and not originally composed by the sender in an attempt to curb the circulation of fake news, according to the Financial Times. “The Facebook-owned messaging service introduced the new feature for some users on Wednesday as part of a wider attempt to repair its reputation following a spate of lynchings in India that were alleged to have been sparked by false WhatsApp rumours.” However, while the messaging service is trying to address the “fake news” issue, it is wary of the fine line between controlling false content and infringing on users’ privacy and anonymity.

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