How to find fake news in whatsapp
How to fact check fake news on WhatsApp
WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging platforms out there and has over 2 billion monthly active users. While it is helpful in staying connected with friends and family, it is also being used to spread fake news and rumors.
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In 2018, 29 people were killed in India by mobs after fake messages about alleged child-lifting gangs were shared on WhatsApp. Apart from these, political rumors and fake news aimed at inciting religious violence is quite common.
Fake news about Delhi violence
After the Delhi violence, there have been reports about fake news being spread on WhatsApp. Special Cell of the Delhi Police took to Twitter to warn users about the fake news being spread on social media platforms.
How to identify fake news on WhatsApp
Images and videos
When you receive an image or a video that mentions a particular incident, use Google to check if there has been any such incident. Most of the fake news is spread using edited photos and videos.
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Look for the ‘Forwarded’ tag
WhatsApp has started adding a ‘Forwarded’ tag to messages that forwarded from one user to another user more than five times. While you cannot see the number of times the message has been forwarded, you can see a double arrow icon above the message.
Do note that the ‘Forwarded’ tag does not necessarily mean that the message is false. This tag is added to all messages that are shared multiple times.
If you suspect that a message you have received is spreading fake news, you can use a fact checking service to check whether the news is correct or not.
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Here are two Fact Checking services that allow you to share the message on WhatsApp for verification.
- Boom - +91 7700906588
- India Today - +91 7370007000
How to fact check fake news on WhatsApp
You can save the above numbers to your contacts and message them on WhatsApp the fake message for fact checking.
- Send the message, image or video that you suspect is spreading fake news.
- Your request will be sent to the ‘Fact Check Team’.
- After some time, you will get the result.
- The report will show whether the message you have shared is true or false.
- You can also click on the given link to check what the truth is.
See also: How to fact check fake news on Google Google, Facebook, Twitter and other social media companies to join hands to curb fake news in India
WhatsApp tips: Tips to identify fake messages
WhatsApp tips: Important tips to identify fake messages, forwards (Express photo: Shruti Dhapola)
Social media can be both good and bad. All sorts of content circulate across platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, TikTok and it’s up to the users what they wish to believe and what they don’t.
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the spread of misinformation spiked and that led these platforms to bring features that can prevent the circulation of unverified information. The government of India has been warning people to not believe information that isn’t verified.
WhatsApp recently introduced several new features to control the spread of information on its platform. Today, we will discuss all of them and provide some tips to identify false messages.
Understand when a message is forwarded
Messages with the “Forwarded” label help you determine if your friend or relative wrote the message or if it originally came from someone else. When a message is forwarded from one user to another more than five times, it’s indicated with a double arrow icon, highlighting the message to be a “frequently forwarded message”.
If you’re not sure who wrote the original message, double-check the facts with trusted news sources.
Check photos and media carefully
Photos, audio recordings, and videos can be edited to mislead you. Look at trusted news sources to see if the story has been reported elsewhere. You can type relevant keywords for the story or perform a reverse Google image search.
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Look out for messages that look different
Many messages or website links you receive containing hoaxes or fake news have spelling mistakes. Look for these signs so you can check if the information is accurate.
Verify information before forwarding
We have been told again and again to verify the information before forwarding it to others. Sometimes “forwarded” messages can seem helpful or even harmless especially if they come from family and friends, but no matter the situation, we must confirm the facts of the message before forwarding it ahead. You can verify the message by searching for facts online before sharing it with your contacts. If you’re still not sure if a message is true, check trusted news sites and ask fact-checkers.
Also read | Spot and Stop: 5 tips to curb the menace of fake news on WhatsApp
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If you receive a message that is fake, share the fact with the person who sent it to you.
Request them to share only verified information. If a group or contact is constantly sending fake news, feel free to report them.
Group Privacy Settings
To ensure your privacy and prevent people from adding you to unwanted groups with unknown members, you can use Group Privacy settings. WhatsApp recently added a new privacy setting and invite system to help you decide who can add you to groups.
Also read | WhatsApp group privacy settings: Here’s how it works, how to enable, and invite users to groups now
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To enable go to Settings in your app, then tap Account > Privacy > Groups and select one of three options: Nobody, My Contacts, or Everyone. ‘Nobody’ means you’ll have to approve joining every group to which you’re invited, and ‘My Contacts’ means only users you already know can add you to groups.
Avoid scams
Unwanted messages from unauthorized third parties come in many forms, such as spam, hoax and phishing messages.
All these types of messages are broadly defined as unsolicited messages from unauthorized third parties that try to deceive you and prompt you to act in a certain way. We always advise you to block the sender, disregard the message and delete it.
Also read | Jio, Facebook giving free 25GB daily data for 6-months? Beware, it’s a new COVID-19 scam
Report them
When you receive a message from an unknown number for the first time, WhatsApp shows you the option to report the number directly inside the chat. As always, this report sends the most recent messages in the chat to WhatsApp. You can also report a contact or a group from their profile information using the following steps: Open the chat > Tap on the contact or group name to open their profile information > scroll to the bottom and tap “Report contact” or “Report group“.
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Block the person
You can stop receiving messages, calls, and status updates from certain contacts by blocking them. Tap More > settings > contacts > blocked contacts. For more information, please take a look at this video. To know more, click here.
WhatsApp has a function to check fakes
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A new feature has appeared in the WhatsApp messenger - as part of the fight against "fake news", users have the opportunity to check the truth of the messages they receive. Now a fragment of text, the authenticity of which is in doubt, can be uploaded to a browser that will find similar search results in news or other sources of information.
The WhatsApp messenger has added another feature to the service designed to protect users from the flow of disinformation on the platform.
This is reported in the official blog company.
The new "Internet Search" feature will affect those messages that have been repeatedly forwarded to several chats. They are marked with a special double arrow symbol, which indicates that the original author of the text is not the user from whom you received the message.
“We are currently testing a simple way to check these messages by clicking on the magnifying glass symbol in chat.
This way of searching for frequently shared messages will help users find results in the news or other sources of information about the content received. nine0003
This feature works by downloading a message using a browser, while WhatsApp does not have access to your message, ”the administration of the messenger says in a statement.
Thus, the user will be able to quickly check the information he received and form his own opinion about its reliability. The feature is reportedly already available in Brazil, the UK, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Mexico, and the US for users of the latest version of WhatsApp on Android, iOS, and WhatsApp Web.
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The spread of disinformation on WhatsApp is a serious problem for the messenger, given the huge audience of the service, which at the beginning of 2020 exceeded 2 billion people. To curb the spread of fakes, in April of this year, WhatsApp introduced restrictions on forwarding messages marked with a double arrow - now it will be possible to do this only in one chat at a time.
In early 2019, WhatsApp already introduced restrictions on the simultaneous sending of forwarded messages, reducing the number of chats to five. nine0003
This resulted in a 25% reduction in shipments worldwide.
The company hopes that tougher measures will show even more impressive results in the long term.
“Message forwarding is bad? Not at all necessary. We know that many users forward useful information, as well as funny videos, memes, quotes and prayers, which are given special meaning ... However, we noticed that the number of messages forwarded has increased significantly.
Many users are concerned about this fact as it can help spread misinformation. We believe that the spread of such messages needs to be slowed down in order for WhatsApp to continue to be a personal communication service,” the service’s blog says. nine0003
At the beginning of last month, WABetainfo discovered a feature in the beta version of WhatsApp that many users will call a long-awaited feature - a new item "Linked Devices" appeared in the application menu. It is expected that after the update in WhatsApp it will be possible to link your account to several smartphones or a computer at the same time. The maximum number of paired devices will be limited to four gadgets. It is not yet known exactly when the feature will become available to a wide range of users. nine0003
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