Help Article | How to prevent the spread of misinformation

Learn about the forwarded message labels

Messages with the "Forwarded" label help you determine if your friend or family wrote the message or if it originally came from someone else. When a message is forwarded through a chain of five or more chats, meaning it’s at least five forwards away from its original sender, a double arrow icon

and the “Forwarded many times” label will be displayed. If you're not sure who wrote the original message, double check the facts. To learn more about forwarding limits, refer to this this article.

Check your biases

Watch out for information that confirms your pre-existing beliefs; review the facts yourself before sharing information. Stories that seem hard to believe are often untrue.

Fact check information with other sources

Fake news often goes viral, and photos, audio recordings, and videos can be edited to mislead you. Even if a message is shared many times, this doesn’t make it true. If you receive information that's fake, inform the sender that they sent you incorrect information and recommend they verify messages before sharing them.

If you're unsure whether a message is true, we recommend checking trusted news sites to see where the story came from. When a story is reported in multiple places and from trustworthy sources, it's more likely to be true. You can consult fact-checkers, or people you trust, for more information. For a list of fact-checkers affiliated with the International Fact-Checking Network, see this article.

If a contact is constantly sending fake news, report them. To learn how to report a message, contact, or group, read this article.

Look out for messages that look different

Many unwanted messages and links that you might receive have spelling or grammar mistakes, or ask you to share personal information. To learn how to identify and handle these types of messages, read this article.

Note: If you feel that you or someone else is in emotional or physical danger, please contact your local law enforcement authorities. Local law enforcement authorities are equipped to help in these cases.

Related resources:

WhatsApp Features

TEXTS

Simple, Reliable Messaging

Message your friends and family for free*. WhatsApp uses your phone's Internet connection to send messages so you can avoid SMS fees

* Data charges may apply. Contact your provider for details.

GROUP CHAT

Groups to keep in touch

Keep in touch with the groups of people that matter the most, like your family or coworkers. With group chats, you can share messages, photos, and videos with up to 256 people at once. You can also name your group, mute or customize notifications, and more.

WHATSAPP ON WEB AND DESKTOP

Keep the Conversation Going

With WhatsApp on the web and desktop, you can seamlessly sync all of your chats to your computer so that you can chat on whatever device is most convenient for you. Download the desktop app or visit web.whatsapp.com to get started

WHATSAPP VOICE AND VIDEO CALLS

Speak Freely

With voice calls, you can talk to your friends and family for free*, even if they're in another country. And with free* video calls, you can have face-to-face conversations for when voice or text just isn't enough. WhatsApp voice and video calls use your phone's Internet connection, instead of your cell plan's voice minutes, so you don't have to worry about expensive calling charges.

* Data charges may apply. Contact your provider for details.

END-TO-END ENCRYPTION

Security by Default

Some of your most personal moments are shared on WhatsApp, which is why we built end-to-end encryption into the latest versions of our app. When end-to-end encrypted, your messages and calls are secured so only you and the person you're communicating with can read or listen to them, and nobody in between, not even WhatsApp.

PHOTOS AND VIDEOS

Share Moments that Matter

Send photos and videos on WhatsApp instantly. You can even capture the moments that matter to you most with a built-in camera. With WhatsApp, photos and videos send quickly even if you're on a slow connection.

DOCUMENTS

Document Sharing Made Easy

Send PDFs, documents, spreadsheets, slideshows and more, without the hassle of email or file sharing apps. You can send documents up to 100 MB, so it's easy to get what you need over to who you want.