WhatsApp has
recently been taking a lot of steps to curb the spread of malicious fake news
on its platform the most noticeable of them being the full page advertisements
it published in all the leading newspapers in India as written about here.
If you are
like the millions of people who use WhatsApp as the main source of
communication then you must know about these six new features that WhatsApp is
either testing or has already made available:
WhatsApp forwarded label
This feature that is now available to users on Android and iOS, places a
"Forwarded" label on texts that have been forwarded. This lets
those who receive the message understand that it was not originally
composed by the sender. It must be noted however that copied and pasted
text or media that has been downloaded and re-attached does not get this
label.
"Mute" and "Mark as read" options
in the Notification Panel
Now users will reportedly have the ability to mute chats directly from the
notifications centre but only when more than 50 messages have been
received from the contact. Users will also be able to mark messages as
read from the notification centre itself, where currently only the reply
option is present. The mute feature is available in Android beta version
2.18.216.
The
ability to send cute and fun stickers, as present in many other messaging
platforms, has been a feature craved by WhatsApp users since the
beginning. In Facebook's F8 conference this feature was at last announced
and its preview is currently available for Android beta Version 2.18.218.
This feature currently being tested will detect the redirection of a
link to a different website and mark it with a red label. Additionally it
will give a warning when the user decides to click on the link despite the
red label.
Message sending discriminatory
powers for Group Admins
We have all been part of a WhatsApp group at some point of time that is
constantly bombarded by spam messages which are well meaning or otherwise.
Admins will now have the power to choose who in a group have the rights to post messages to the group. This option is currently available in the
group settings menu
What do you think of these new features and what are the features that you would like to see on WhatsApp? Do comment below and don't forget to subscribe.
In a world driven by information, misinformation can be a dangerous tool. A chilling example of this fact occurred in Chamarajpet, Bangalore on 24th May when an innocent job seeker was lynched to death by a Mob who suspected him to be a Kidnapper after a morphed video became viral showing child Kidnappers.It was actually an awareness video against child kidnapping.
Here is BBC's Coverage of the shocking news:
Today WhatsApp took out a full page advertisement in some of the leading dailies in India listing out ways to combat the malice of Fake News. Though most of the points listed out by them are common sense but common sense ironically, is the least common of senses. The use of the internet in India has spread faster and wider than a wildfire but technological literacy sadly, not so.
Here are the Points listed by WhatsApp:
Understand when a message is forwarded
WhatsApp is now rolling out a new feature which lets users see when the messages have been forwarded.
Question Information that upsets you
WhatsApp advises to think twice before forwarding Upsetting messages.
Check information that seems unbelievable
Stories that seem hard to believe must be checked elsewhere.
Look out for Messages that look different
Messages that with fake news generally have spelling mistakes.
Check Photos in messages carefully
The photos and the accompanying messages are in many cases unrelated and sent together with an aim to mislead.
And check links too
The links must be checked for spelling errors and unusual characters as these usually point to something not being right.
Use other source
Other sources must be investigated to verify the truthfulness of the news.
Be thoughtful before you share
WhatsApp advises not to share information whose source the users are unsure of.
You can control what you see
Unwanted groups and users can easily be blocked on WhatsApp.
Fake news often goes viral
The truthfulness of a message should not be judged by the number of times it is shared.
Do leave your comments and reactions below.
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