Misinformation is rampant on WhatsApp. This is a problem to the extent that there are offline consequences for such misinformation. Dozens have been killed due to rumors that spread on WhatsApp. Elections have been influenced. Due to end-to-end encryption, there is currently no way of knowing the prevalence of misinformation and more importantly, to do something about it.
WhatsViral is an academic project that aims to address this drawback. By enabling users to privately donate their WhatsApp data, we plan to identify content that is viral on WhatsApp, including misinformation, rumors and other hateful content.
By providing trusted sources like journalists and fact-checkers access to this data, the project aims to communicate, in real time, misinformation being spread on WhatsApp, enabling users to be informed. Here's how we achieve this privately: