Re:WhatsApp puts limit on message forwarding to fight fake news
by ljm on Monday January 21, 2019 @05:19PM
(#18964161)
It's a lot easier to do when the disinformation is presented in the form of memes, quotes on top of scenic backgrounds, and screenshots of text.
Anecdotally, I was in one group and one person announced that they were leaving, so they spent some time saying goodbye. Almost at the same time, someone else forwarded a meme post along the lines of "Sometimes the best way to let go is to tell them to FUCK OFF!"
Well, that was quite funny at the end of it, but still.
The forwarding is effortless and is essentially broadcasting. You don't see the updated conversation from a forwarding screen, so you can't pause to reflect the same way you would if you were typing away a message and seeing the chat flow by. So these messages propagate mindlessly.
To that extent I don't think fake news/disinformation is the real problem. It's virality.
Anecdotally, I was in one group and one person announced that they were leaving, so they spent some time saying goodbye. Almost at the same time, someone else forwarded a meme post along the lines of "Sometimes the best way to let go is to tell them to FUCK OFF!"
Well, that was quite funny at the end of it, but still.
The forwarding is effortless and is essentially broadcasting. You don't see the updated conversation from a forwarding screen, so you can't pause to reflect the same way you would if you were typing away a message and seeing the chat flow by. So these messages propagate mindlessly.
To that extent I don't think fake news/disinformation is the real problem. It's virality.