Why Meta doesn’t pay the same attention to WhatsApp than Facebook or Instagram when it comes to disinformation? This is the question raised by the Mozilla Foundation in a thunderous investigation, which deplores the proliferation of false information on the messaging in the middle of an election period.
In 2020, Meta announced that WhatsApp had nearly 2 billion users worldwide. This is slightly less than Facebook, but much more than any other messaging service. The platform, bought by the social media giant in 2014, has established itself as a preferred means of communication in many countries, particularly developing countries. However, measures to combat misinformation on the platform are fewer compared to Facebook. A situation all the more worrying given that this year, almost half of the world’s population will go to the polls, in a context of disinformation exacerbated by the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI).
Glaring difference in treatment
On Facebook, 95 election-related measures have been announced since 2016. A figure which rises to only 14 for WhatsApp. The difference is overwhelming, even though messaging has faced significant challenges managing elections in countries like India, Brazil and Nigeria.
The measures put in place to combat disinformation, such as the statement “ Transferred » when sharing a message, are not necessarily effective outside of Western cultures, explains Odanga Madung, senior researcher at Mozilla, in an interview with Engadget.
“ A resident of Kenya, Nigeria or India using WhatsApp for the first time is not going to think about what the label “forwarded” means in the context of misinformation. In fact, it could have the opposite effect, namely that information has been widely relayed, and therefore must be credible », he explains.
WhatsApp must disable Communities, says the Mozilla Foundation
“ WhatsApp is different from the experience on Facebook and Instagram in many ways, and therefore has guidelines and approaches that are more appropriate to its functionality and use », Explains a spokesperson for Meta.
According to the NGO, the new features of WhatsApp, such as Communities, sow even more doubt among users. This type of tool transforms messaging into a social network and yet, it offers end-to-end encryption.
The Mozilla Foundation urges the platform to implement measures to prevent election-related excesses. WhatsApp is expected to add context to message forwarding, encouraging users to pause and think before sharing, as well as introduce misinformation warning labels to viral content. Finally, the NGO recommends that messaging deactivate Communities and limit the size of mailing lists to a maximum of 50 people.
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WhatsApp is an essential application that allows you to easily chat with your contacts, whatever the model of their phone, by voice and video. A true reference used by billions of users, this app is easy to use and available in French.
WhatsApp is an essential application that allows you to easily chat with your contacts, whatever the model of their phone, by voice and video. A true reference used by billions of users, this app is easy to use and available in French.
Sources: The Mozilla Foundation, Engadget
After my journalism studies, I decided to focus on areas that fascinate me: new technologies, video games, or even astronomy. I love sharing around these subjects but my curiosity leads me to discuss many other subjects through my articles.
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