In another trial to fight sharing misinformation, Facebook is introducing a forwarding limit on Messenger. Now, a message can only be forwarded to five people or groups at a time. Facebook says that will slow the spread of viral misinformation and harmful content.Facebook-owned WhatsApp introduced a similar forwarding limit in April and says doing so limited the spread of frequently forwarded messages. WhatsApp saw a 70% decrease in message forwarding around the world.
“We are introducing a forwarding limit on Messenger to help curb the efforts of those looking to cause chaos, sow uncertainty or inadvertently undermine accurate information,” Facebook wrote in a blog post.
Facebook is under increased pressure to fight misinformation due to the coronavirus pandemic and upcoming election. The platform recently removed seven million posts with COVID-19 misinformation, including a post shared by President Trump. It’s reportedly testing a “virality circuit breaker” and plans to ban new political ads in the weeks before the election. It has also launched election and coronavirus info centers.
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