“WhatsApp will shut down tomorrow” , Facebook will shut down next tomorrow, “God want you to forward this messages else bad luck will strike”, those are examples of false messages that spreads on WhatsApp, here is how you can Identify and prevent the spread of such outrageous and false messages(rumors).

Rumors they say spread like wild fire, thus preventing the spread is worth the chase, back in 2019 the Messenger Giant “WhatsApp” ran a google and social media ads calling on people to curb the spread of rumors and share facts, they took this personal because most of these rumors are been spread through the Whatsapp messenger platform, these messages are mostly forwarded by a contact urging or compelling the receiver to also forward to others, funny enough most people tend to blindly forward these messages without verifying the authenticity or source.

This has made the messenger platform(WhatsApp) look more like children’s playground and a rumor village, since most of the forwarded messages turn out to be false, Whatsapp shared some tips on how can help prevent the spread of fake rumors via their recent Ads, and I quote

Tips to help prevent the spread of rumors and fake news

1 – 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. Double check the facts when you’re not sure who wrote the original message. To learn more about forwarding messages, please read these articles.

2 – Check photos and media carefully Photos, audios, videos can be edited to mislead you. Look at trusted news sources to see if the story is being reported elsewhere. When a story is reported in multiple places, it’s more likely to be true.

3 – 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. To learn more about suspicious links, please read these articles.

4 – Check your biases Watch out for information that confirms your preexisting beliefs and reviews the facts before sharing information. Stories that seem hard to believe are often untrue.

5 – Fake news often goes viral Even if a message is shared many times, this does not make it true. Don’t forward a message because the sender is urging you to do so.

6 – Verify with other sources If you’re still not sure if a message is true, search online for facts and check trusted news sites to see where the story came from. If you still have doubts, ask fact-checkers or people you trust for more information.

7 – Help stop the spread If you see something that’s fake, tell the person that sent it to you and ask them to verify information before they share it. Don’t share a message because someone tells you to do so. If a group or contact is constantly sending fake news, report them. To learn how to report a contact or a group, please read this article.

Important: If you feel that you or someone else is in emotional or physical danger, please contact your local law enforcement authorities. Local law enforcement authorities are equipped to help in these cases.

Those are the tips shared by Whatsapp on how you should treat Forwarded messages to curb the spread of rumors, they did well by adding a forwarding label to forwarded messages to distinguish them from personally composed messages, WhatsApp took this action to equally maintain the quality and authenticity of messages shared through her platform.

You too can help curb the spread of rumors via WhatsApp or any other platform by been matured enough to verify information(forwarded messages) before pressing the forward button, even if you are compelled to do so, Sad enough Religion has equally been misused in some of these messages, most of them claim to be sent by God himself, compelling the users to forward to a specific number of contacts so as to receive blessing or stay cursed if disregarded, this makes me wonder if God does Whatsapp

Have you received such messages recently and how did you treat them?, the comment section is opened for discussion

Best Regards..