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Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, has launched Channels on the instant messaging application in India and over 150 countries, and India Today Fact Check is one of the first Indian organisations to be part of it. WhatsApp Channel is a one-way broadcast tool that delivers a private way to receive updates from people and organisations. Broadcasts can include text, photos, videos, stickers, and polls.
India Today Fact Check will use this new platform to publish regular stories debunking misinformation and disinformation trending on various social media platforms. You can follow India Today Fact Check’s WhatsApp Channel here.
Channel broadcasts appear in a separate tab of the app, away from personal chats and calls under the Updates tab (formerly known as the Status tab). According to Meta, notifications for Channels are muted by default. To get notified about new updates, you can turn on notifications for each channel.
According to Meta, the goal of Channels is to build the most private broadcast service available that protects the personal information of both admins and followers. Following a Channel won’t reveal your phone number to the admin or other followers.
India accounts for more than 490 million of WhatsApp’s 2.7 billion monthly users globally. Essentially, WhatsApp is used by almost every Indian with a smartphone. Through Channels, India Today will tackle the unchecked sharing of misinformation and disinformation on the messaging app, whether about elections, health myths, or communally sensitive topics.
Meta first introduced Channels in WhatsApp in June 2023 in Singapore and Colombia, where users could follow various NGOs, medical research institutions, fact-checking bodies, and local authorities. The following month, it was launched in Egypt, Chile, Malaysia, Morocco, Ukraine, Kenya, and Peru.
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