Today, social media platforms have undoubtedly revolutionized the field of communication. Through this, people have been able to easily communicate with their loved ones despite being far away. But apart from these advantages, these platforms also serve to spread rumors and misleading information very quickly. So the government has shouldered the responsibility of verifying these fake news and making everyone aware. Recently the central government’s official Twitter handle, PIB Fact Check released a statement against a misleading claim circulating on social media channels.
The misleading message states that the Indian government regularly monitors private messages on WhatsApp. PIB Fact Check, tweeted a picture to disprove these claims. In that picture, it is seen that WhatsApp uses different indicators to indicate the status of different messages. For example, one tick is used to indicate that the message has arrived, and two is used to indicate that the message has been read. These are very familiar and common features of messaging platforms.
The fake message mentions multiple indicators to mislead users. While three blue ticks mean that the government has taken note of the message, two blue ticks and one red tick mean that the government may take legal action against the sender, according to fraudsters. Again a blue tick and two red ticks indicate that the government is verifying your data. Also seeing three red ticks means that the government is going to take legal action against the sender and very soon he will be summoned by the court.
WhatsApp has informed that the message circulating on social media about Tick to mislead the general public is actually wrong. Because official WhatsApp platform never use red tick for message status. While sending a message on WhatsApp, its color is gray and when the message is read, it turns blue.
PIB Fact Check has clarified that the Government of India does not monitor any user’s private messages on WhatsApp or any other social media platform nor use any indicators based on the content of any private message. Also, the Supreme Court had long ago said that such claims circulated on WhatsApp were baseless.
Note that we currently live in an age where misinformation can spread like wildfire. So before sharing or trusting any such information one needs to be aware of its source. And in such a situation, fact checking organizations like PIB Fact Check play an important role in preventing fake news and making users of social media platforms more aware and responsible.
