A video is circulating on WhatsApp purporting that new communication rules now allow the Nigerian government to monitor and record all calls and voice recordings on the social media platform. The viral clip shows a static image of a Nigerian police officer with an audio narration in the background.
According to the narration, private conversations across social media platforms will be surveilled, and a new “tick” system on WhatsApp will reveal the status of government monitoring on the platform. It also warns that users may face legal repercussions if they post content critical of the government, especially on political or religious topics, suggesting that users might even face arrest without a warrant.
Part of the narration read, “The new communication rules for WhatsApp and WhatsApp call, that is, voice and WhatsApp call, will be implemented from tomorrow. 1. All calls will be recorded. 2. All calls recording will be saved. 3. WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and all social media will be monitored. 4. Your devices will connect to the ministry system. 5. Take care not to send a wrong message to anyone. 6. Tell your children, siblings, relatives, friends, acquaintances that they should be careful of them and rarely run social sites.”
It added, “Important information about WhatsApp new rules to group members: Message sent, 1 tick; 2 tick, message read; 2 blue tick, message read; 3 blue tick, the government took note of the message; 2 blue and 1 red tick, the government can take action against you; 1 blue and 2 red tick, the government is checking your information; 3 red tick, the government has started proceeding against you and you will get a court summons soon. Be a responsible citizen and share with your friends.”
Claim: New rules allow the Nigerian government to monitor and record calls, track activities, and use a “tick” system to indicate surveillance on WhatsApp
Verification
The CDD War Room understands that Meta’s WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption for all messages and calls on its platform. This encryption ensures that only the sender and recipient of the message have access to the content, making it technically impossible for a third party to read or listen to conversations directly. This privacy policy contradicts the viral claim of government surveillance and recording of all calls on the platform.
We found no evidence to the claim of additional tick marks in blue and red to indicate that a message is under government scrutiny. WhatsApp uses a simple tick system to denote message status — one grey tick means the message was sent, two grey ticks mean it was delivered, and two blue ticks mean it was read by the recipient. As of the time of this report, there is no “three-tick” system, nor any colour coding to signal government involvement in WhatsApp conversations.
Also, we found no statement by the Nigerian authorities, including the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy or the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), suggesting that private social media conversations are being monitored in the ways described in the viral clip.
Furthermore, similar claims about government surveillance on WhatsApp have circulated beyond Nigeria in previous years. This disinformation trend was debunked multiple times, including in India in 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024, as well as in Nigeria in March 2024.
Verdict: FALSE
We found no statement or policy issued by Nigerian authorities to support the claim. Similar false messages have circulated internationally, including in India and Nigeria, with variations debunked multiple times since 2019. This pattern reflects a trend of disinformation aimed at instilling fear about privacy on social media platforms.
Leave a Reply