It probably would have won the prize for the first hoax of 2018, if there had been one. We are talking about the new chain that is running on Whatsapp and that warns us that, from 13 January, the service will become paid.
Fortunately, however, the CEO of the app is so forgiving that, if you are a regular user, he will let you keep it free.
The hoax (already seen) of Whatsapp for a fee
No, you are not seeing a déja-vu, but it is simply that this text has already been proposed hundreds of times (and the distinctive character is the dot that should change color).
Obviously the message speaks for itself, and it is clear that it is a hoax. But today let's play a game together: let's disassemble this chain point by point (so you can let your friends know all the points where this message makes water):
- The ball: It is clearly written in the message text that the dot would turn blue. It seems useless to say that that is a character like all the others and, if it has been entered in red, it will remain so even if you send the message to the entire address book;
- The CEO: it is written (with a somewhat questionable syntactic form) that Whatsapp was bought by a certain Mr. Yong Lin. Well, it takes 20 seconds to discover that the person exists, but it has nothing to do with Whatsapp which is and remains to be part of the Facebook group (Wikipedia);
- The TG: Here it is, finally the typical phrase of these messages, the one that magically makes everything written previously acquire importance. It is clear, and even here a search on the news sites is enough to discover that no newspaper has talked about this phantom sale;
- The debit of the money: It is written that each message will cost 0,01 cents which, considering how many we send, would become a huge amount. But how would they charge us for the money? We remind you that Whatsapp is not a telephone operator and therefore cannot remove the money from our credit without us authorizing the transaction.
How to "defend yourself"
We have clarified, even for those who have doubts, that this message is part of the category "let's ignore them because they are so useless". Our intent, of course, was not to highlight the news, but to inform you of the falsity of the thing to avoid spreading these news and making a fool with friends.
If, however, you should receive "doubtful" messages, we invite you to read our in-depth analysis on how to recognize a hoax and, if necessary, contact us on our facebook page.
