WhatsApp flags forwarded messages

Hyderabad: In an attempt to help people understand the source of messages on WhatsApp, the platform has introduced a tag, ‘Forwarded’. If a message isn’t created by the sender, it will have the ‘forwarded’ label at the top.

Whatsapp says this label helps the user determine if the message has been created by another user or if the original came from someone else. The label is available on the latest supported version of Whatsapp.

The drawback is that it applies only to messages which are forwarded using the forward option. A copy-paste of the message will not get the ‘Forwarded’ tag.

Since the messages are protected by end-to-end encryption, not even WhatsApp can read them. Evidently the platform cannot say how many times a message was forwarded. 

Fact-checkers say this step can help educate people who have recently started using Whatsapp. Mr Pratik Sinha of Alt-News said, “It is an important indicator for people to know that it is a chain message. If it is part of a larger scheme, having a symbol cannot help on its own. When awareness is created, these indicators will help people in identifying fake news and makes them think, ‘May be I shouldn’t forward it as it is not verified’.”

This step is to ensure reducing the trust in the message. But it can backfire if the message is forwarded even more. 

Mr Govindraj Ethiraj, founder of the fact-checking website BOOM, said, “We often tend to believe the message assuming the sender has written it. Such messages should be taken less seriously because it is not the sender who has written it.”

It could also work the other way, because it is being forwarded, the message contains important information, so therefore it should be believed. Social media platforms have to keep trying things. If it works in a limited way, then they should take it to the next level, Mr Ethiraj said.

The impact of this feature can be figured out in the coming days. Mr Tinu Cherian, social media expert, said, “The icon wouldn’t make much difference for Internet users as they have already figured out ways to detect forward messages. There should be a mechanism where such messages can be checked with fact-checking websites using artificial intelligence. Only then can a substantial impact can be seen.”

These measures come after the Union ministry of electronics and IT headed by Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, in a statement recently, said that the government had directed WhatsApp to contain the spread of messages spreading fake news and rumours using appropriate technology.