Moneycontrol

Perplexity AI may have an answer for WhatsApp’s fake news problem

The tool, announced by Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas on X, lets users forward any message to Perplexity AI and receive an instant fact-check.

May 02, 2025 / 06:08 IST
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Perplexity AI

Perplexity AI has introduced a new feature to fact-check forwarded messages on WhatsApp. The tool, announced by Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas on X, lets users forward any message to +1 (833) 436-3285 and receive an instant fact-check.

“This is super useful when WhatsApp groups are filled with a ton of forwarded messages which could be misleading,” Srinivas wrote.

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While Meta has made efforts to limit the reach of forwards—such as labelling forwarded messages and capping the number of people they can be sent to—fake news remains a persistent problem in private chats, especially in regions like India and Brazil. In fact, a user asked Srinivas on X whether the feature would work in India and the Perplexity CEO replied, "it should".

By integrating Perplexity’s AI into the mix, the company is essentially offering a real-time credibility check for group messages that often go unchallenged.