WhatsApp is testing a new feature that allows users to quickly search the content of viral messages to check if they are misinformation, the company announced.
Starting today, a magnifying glass icon will appear next to messages that have been forwarded through a chain of five or more people. By tapping the icon, you'll be able to search the content of the message online and check if it's one of the common conspiracy theories or misinformation.
In a screenshot of the feature released by WhatsApp, the app uses the example of a viral message claiming that “eating fresh boiled garlic will cure COVID-19 .” A web search turns up three fact-checking websites that flag this claim as false. In March, CNN reported that medical misinformation was a serious problem for the Facebook -owned messaging service .
Facebook's attempts to control messages on WhatsApp are complicated by end-to-end encryption, which prevents the tech giant from seeing the content of messages sent with the service.
With the new search feature, WhatsApp is giving users the power to control their information, rather than the app proactively scanning messages for common conspiracy theories. WhatsApp says that any message a user selects to search is sent directly to their browser “without WhatsApp ever seeing the message itself.”
This is the latest measure WhatsApp has taken to try to stop the spread of misinformation on its platform. In April, it set new limits on the forwarding of viral messages. After the changes, viral messages can only be forwarded to one other person, instead of the previous limit of five. WhatsApp later said the measure had reduced their spread by 70%, although it is impossible to know how many of those messages contained misinformation.
The new search feature is now rolling out on iOS, Android , and the web in Brazil, Italy, Ireland, Mexico, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
