WhatsApp has made it easier to know the source of your messages in a bid to curb the spread of fake news and misinformation.
The company announced on its blog that starting this Tuesday WhatsApp will indicate which message you receive was forwarded to you.
The feature marks forwarded messages in a subtle and hard to miss italicized text above the content of a message.
[caption caption="The new WhatsApp feature"]
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“This extra context will help you make one-on-one and group chats easier to follow. It also helps you to determine if your friend or relative wrote the message they sent or if it originally came from someone else,” the official statement read.
“To see this new forwarded label you need to have the latest supported version of WhatsApp on your phone.”
It also cautions people to think twice before sharing messages that were forwarded.
This is a valid attempt aimed at trying stop the spread of fake news.
This shift for the messaging app could potentially make a big difference in the way that netizens transmit information, especially unreliable viral content, on the app.
In march this year President Uhuru Kenyatta assented the Computer and Cybercrime Bill that states that an individual stands to be jailed for 2 years or get fine Ksh 5million for the spread of fake news.
“A person who publishes false data with an intent that the data will be considered authentic commits an offense and shall on conviction be liable ton a fine not exceeding 5 million or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or both,” clause 12 of the law states in part.
[caption caption="President Uhuru Kenyatta signing the Computer and Cybercrime Bill"]
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