Smart reporting tool could combat fake news on encrypted chat apps

By Chris Stokel-Walker

Fears about the spread of disinformation on encrypted chat apps could be addressed by a system that can expose fake news without infringing on people’s privacy, its creators claim.

WhatsApp and other end-to-end encrypted messaging apps have struggled to stop the flow of disinformation on their platforms. In 2019, WhatsApp introduced limits on the number of times a message can be forwarded in an attempt to slow the spread of fake news. However, because the messages are encrypted, there is no way …