WhatsApp and WeChat: Stop the spread of COVID-19 misinformation
During a worldwide crisis like the current coronavirus pandemic, keeping up with the latest news has become more important than ever. Getting updates from reliable sources has also become a pressing issue, as even the White House has promoted misinformation about COVID-19. People may know not to trust the president or their Facebook feeds, but many are still entranced by the allure of sensationalized news and media on instant chat apps like WhatsApp and WeChat, the user bases of which together account for nearly half the world’s population.
Especially in recent weeks, WhatsApp has become a significant nexus of fake news and altered photographs surrounding COVID-19. Popular in much of South Asia and the Spanish-speaking world, WhatsApp has over 2 billion users, accounting for over a quarter of the world’s population. The messaging service has revolutionized international communication in particular, as its debut in 2009 allowed immigrants to stay in touch with their families and friends back in South Asia and Latin and Central America.
Inevitably, however, WhatsApp has been a messenger for misinformation in several countries. This isn’t a new phenomenon and has been the case since far before the pandemic. In India, vigilante violence and mob lynchings have been attributed to the mobile app for years: A 2018 BBC report chronicled the kidnapping and brutal beating of Hyderabad resident Mohammad Salman, which was spurred by false rumors spread on WhatsApp. Salman’s story is just one of hundreds in the subcontinent, as inflammatory messages and hate speech have added fuel to India’s preexisting fire of religious intolerance.
Messages targeting Muslims and other minorities aren’t uncommon and often go unquestioned by a largely gullible populace. Given WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption technology, local authorities in India can only do so much when it comes to identifying the sources of messages inciting violence. In the case of COVID-19, Islamophobic and Sinophobic messages have started circulating on the app, further fueling hate and resentment toward these groups not just within India, but also in other countries in South Asia and Central America that consider the service a staple for their communication needs.
Hate speech is unacceptable, no matter the circumstances. As one of the only sources of communication that has found its way into every nook and cranny of half the world, WhatsApp has an ethical responsibility to curb misinformation by cooperating with cybercrime officers globally and making it easier for users to pick out problematic texts.
The messaging app WeChat, which also functions as a Chinese alternative to social media sites like Facebook and Instagram, has become a problematic platform for misinformation as well. WeChat is mainly used by Chinese citizens and the Chinese diaspora – there are over a billion registered accounts in China alone. While the app does not have the same global reach as platforms like WhatsApp, WeChat still has a heavy hand in both suppressing and spreading information. These formidable capabilities amplify the need to regulate the content shared among the group chats WeChat hosts, especially when that content is spreading misinformation about the coronavirus.
Misleading articles and videos that advertise miracle COVID-19 cures or outlandish preventative measures proliferate across WhatsApp and WeChat. The most convincing sources of misinformation draw on pseudoscience, such as a video that advises viewers to eat garlic or leave onion halves around the house. Garlic and onions are associated with being antimicrobial, but that association does not translate to preventing the transmission of COVID-19. To the media-literate, these directives are easily dismissed as fake, but they remain effective because they target people’s desperation for an easy fix or something they can control.
Social media platforms are no strangers to rampant misinformation. Facebook in particular has been denounced for its lax content screening processes, which allow users to share misleading or even potentially harmful information. WhatsApp and WeChat exacerbate the problem by having features that allow people to forward dangerous messages to multiple groups.
WhatsApp has now imposed a new rule on forwarding messages, but even that is not enough. Both platforms must step up and impose stricter guidelines on forwarding messages and fact-check in real time to prevent misinformation from causing more harm than the virus itself.
In the midst of a pandemic, uncertainty abounds. People look for answers in places they wouldn’t consider otherwise. Fact-checking and other measures to prevent the spread of misinformation on messaging apps are crucial to tamp down both unnecessary panic and false hope. WhatsApp and WeChat should be connecting people, not driving them apart.
