New Delhi (Sputnik): Acting upon the Indian government's instructions to curb the spread of rumors, WhatsApp India has now rolled out changes that will limit the amount of message forwarding. The action by the social media giant comes after a spate of mob violence and lynchings in India caused by WhatsApp-forwarded misinformation led to several deaths.
READ MORE: One Fake Video, 29 Murders: Indian Gov't Springs Into Action
"We believe that these changes — which we'll continue to evaluate — will help keep WhatsApp the way it was designed to be: a private messaging app," Facebook-owned WhatsApp's blog post read.
On July 10, after being pulled up by the Indian government for failing to curb the spread of fake news and rumors, WhatsApp tested a new feature that let users know if a message was a mere forward. The company also published full-page advertisements in Indian newspapers detailing ways and means to fight fake news.
READ MORE: Lynching of Two Youths Over Fake Child Abduction Video Sparks Protests in India
On Wednesday, WhatsApp announced the rolling out of its limit on forwarded messages to five chats.
"The limit has started to appear this week for people in India who are on the current version of WhatsApp," the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
In addition, the instant messaging app is also propagating a new video to educate its users, saying it is expanding its user education campaign on how to spot fake news and hoaxes.
