WhatsApp’s new feature wouldn’t fact-check (all) fake news

Remember the news that said WhatsApp has a feature that would let users forward news to a number for it to be verified for its authenticity? Turns out, that was fake news — more or less. Since the launch of the Checkpoint service, many users have reported online (on Twitter and elsewhere) that they have not received beyond the general automated response — “you should hear from us shortly” — upon sharing a news article or a photo with the tipline. This led many to question the efficacy of what was reported as a fact-checking feature.
Now PROTO, WhatsApp’s partner, has issued an FAQ that says the tipline was “only a means to collect information that is otherwise inaccessible given the nature of private messaging”, and that the links that users share would enable them to “study the misinformation phenomenon at scale”. The final output “at the end of four months will help WhatsApp determine next steps against misinformation on the platform”.