The problem with fixing WhatsApp

In recent months, WhatsApp has more than 1.5 billion users worldwide, has raised frightening new political and social dynamics

Should the world worry about WhatsApp? Has it become a virulent new force in global misinformation and political trickery?

Or, rather, should the world rejoice about WhatsApp? After all, hasn’t it provided a way for people everywhere to communicate securely with encrypted messages, beyond the reach of government surveillance?

These are deep and complicated questions. But the answer to all of them is simple: Yes.

In recent months, the messaging app, which is owned by Facebook and has more than 1.5 billion users worldwide, has raised frightening new political and social dynamics. In Brazil, which is in a bruising national election campaign, WhatsApp