WhatsApp soon to launch its much anticipated new fact-checker feature that will help battle against misinformation of any kind, especially about the Covid-19. Since the beginning of the pandemic, there has been a lot of hoarse and false information being carried about.
Social media platforms have put features in place to battle against false information. Most of these false information has originated in the form of a supposed cure that sometimes proves fatal to human health.
WhatsApp new feature makes it easier to check whether a piece of information is accurate or not.
WhatsApp Fight Against Misinformation
The Facebook-owned social media platform has put several things in place to fight against misinformation, this being one of the several ones. One of WhatsApp’s several measures taken to fight against misinformation was the fact that it limited the number of chats a forwarded message can be shared to.
Earlier this year, WhatsApp also started marking messages to notify its users of messages that have been forwarded repeatedly.
A new WhatsApp bot was also launched which users can contact to find out if a piece of information is true or not.
How to Use the WhatsApp Fact Checker Bot
This chatbot is drilled with about 4000 common hoax information about the Covid-19 and is always updated with new and recent false information from about 80 fact-checking organizations across 74 countries. It’s free to use and was launched by WhatsApp in conjunction with the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN).
To use this chatbot, follow the steps below;
- Save the number (+1 (727) 2912606) to your contact.
- Send a “Hi” to the bot.
- The bot sends you a message that offers Covid-19 myth-busting and fact-checking services.
- Tap on any number on the list that best describes the service you are in need of.
Do note that this IFCN bot is only available in English for now.
WhatsApp New Fact-Checking Feature
In their vigorous fight against misinformation about the Covid-19, WhatsApp has launched a new feature. With access to this feature, users can verify the legitimacy of a forwarded message on WhatsApp.
On forwarded messages, Users will see a magnifying glass button. Clicking on it will open a Google search query on the information of the forwarded message. The results provided by the Google search should verify the forwarded message accuracy.
This new feature is available to users in Brazil, Italy, Mexico, Uk, the U.S, Spain, and Ireland. Although this feature launch is still very uncertain, it will guarantee a fight about Covid-19 misinformation on a different font.
