“We believe it’s important to slow the spread of these messages to keep WhatsApp a place for personal conversation.”īecause of the encryption WhatsApp uses, the company cannot see the contents of messages sent on its platform.
“We’ve seen a significant increase in the amount of forwarding which users have told us can feel overwhelming and can contribute to the spread of misinformation,” said a WhatsApp spokesperson in a blogpost on Tuesday morning. That claim has led to the vandalisation of more than 20 phone masts in the past week. The change does not completely prevent widespread forwarding, since ultimately a message can be passed on however many times a user is happy to hit the forward button.īut by inserting friction into the process, the company hopes to slow some of the most viral messages on its platform, such as the widely spread falsehood that coronavirus is related to 5G. Remember, if you’re worried about your own health or the risk to a family member, “stay home” is the advice.įeeding America also says you can help in small ways like following your local food bank on social media and sharing what they are doing online, or by becoming an advocate for the fight to end hunger in America. If you are interested in becoming a new volunteer, use Feeding America’s tool to find your local food bank or pantry but please get in touch with them first before showing up. You can also donate to Feeding America’s Covid-19 response fund.įood banks rely on volunteers, and Feeding America and food pantries across the US urgently need help as most regular volunteers are senior citizens who are particularly vulnerable to Covid-19. If you want to help, find your local food bank, and go to their website to donate. They help vulnerable communities including the elderly and disabled, as well as providing free nutritional lunches for school children from low-income families. The Feeding America network of 200 food banks secures and distributes 4.3 billion meals each year through 60,000 food pantries and meal programs.
This means food banks must buy more supplies to make sure they have enough to feed every hungry American asking for help.
Now, the demand for emergency food aid is growing exponentially as millions of people lose their jobs.Īs this demand grows, food banks are receiving far fewer donations from retailers as people are buying in bulk, so stocks are low. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, more than 40 million Americans relied on food banks to get enough to eat.
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