With billions of people unable to see their friends and family in person due to COVID-19 social distancing in place, people are relying on WhatsApp more than ever to communicate and in such a scenario, the probability of misinformation or wrong health facts going viral is high.
ALSO WATCH | Coronavirus: WhatsApp Puts New Limits On Forwarding Of Viral Messages To Curb Fake News
A company spokesperson said in a statement shared with IANS, "WhatsApp is committed to doing our part to tackle viral messages. Since putting into place this new limit, globally there has been a 70 per cent reduction in the number of highly forwarded messages sent on WhatsApp,".
The spokesperson added, "This change is helping keep WhatsApp a place for personal and private conversations,"
This limit kicks in once a message has been previously forwarded five times or more.
The Facebook-owned messaging app which has over 400 million users in India last year introduced users to the concept of messages that have been forwarded many times.
These messages are identified with double arrows to indicate they did not originate from close contact.
In July 2018 WhatsApp introduced a limit to forwarding to 5 contacts and the move reduced the total number of forwards to 25 per cent.
The company said it bans two million accounts per month for attempting to send bulk or automated messages.
Additionally, WhatsApp is working with various NGOs and governments, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and over 20 national health ministries, to assist connect people with accurate information. It has also announced the WhatsApp Coronavirus Information Hub.