Whatsapp to fight fake news by limiting forwarded text messages

Facebook's Whatsapp has said it will roll out curbs on the amount of times a user can forward the same message on its platform, in a bid to fight the spread of global "misinformation and rumours".

Whatsapp's vice president for policy and communications Victoria Grand said the app would impose a limit of five messages on users, down from its previous limit of sending messages to 20 individuals or groups.

The measure has been trialled in India since July last year, after the spreading of rumours on its instant messaging app and other social media platforms led to widespread reports of lynching attempts and killings.

Whatsapp has been trying to find a way to combat fake news on its platform while protecting its end-to-end encryption guarantee, which prevents fact-checkers and the firm itself from monitoring communications between its 1.5bn users.

The new limit will be implemented through an update to its app, with Android users to receive the update first before those using Apple devices.

The move was announced by Grand at a conference in Indonesia, a country which is due to hold a general election in three months time.

Whatsapp's parent firm Facebook has been ramping up efforts to combat fake news in recent weeks, including the removal of more than 500 pages linked to disinformation campaigns across central Europe.

Facebook launched its fact-checking service in the UK earlier this month, working with the charity Full Fact to review and rate the accuracy of posts on its site.

The tech giant has been subject to intense scrutiny by regulators and politicians, after it was revealed that adverts on its site had become a means for distributing fake news and other propaganda during the 2016 EU referendum and the US presidential elections.