WhatsApp limits message forwarding to 5 recipients to curb rumours

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Facebook's WhatsApp messenger service is globally limiting the number of times a user can forward a message to five, in a bid to fight misinformation and rumours, company executives said yesterday.

The popular messenger service, which has around 1.5 billion users, has been trying to find ways to stop misuse of the app following global concern that the platform was being used to spread fake news, manipulated photos, videos without context and audio hoaxes, with no way to monitor their origin or full reach.


The five-recipient limit expands globally a measure WhatsApp put into place in India in July after the spread of rumours on social media led to killings and lynching attempts.

The company's parent, Facebook, has been the subject of global scrutiny over its role in the spread of fake news and disinformation over the past year in particular.

The social network is under investigation in several countries for letting the data of millions of its users end up in the hands of Cambridge Analytica, a consulting firm that was working on Mr Donald Trump's 2016 US presidential campaign.