Hello,

After launching our campaign asking WhatsApp to update its product to protect the integrity of elections around the world, thousands of people have signed the petition.

Taking on Meta – the company that owns WhatsApp, as well as Facebook and Instagram – will not be easy. But the Mozilla community has shown what is possible when we come together to go up against powerful tech giants. And with the governments of more than 2 billion people being decided by elections happening in the next three months, it has never been more important to protect elections and stop the spread of disinformation on WhatsApp.

Large tech platforms like Meta rarely bring about positive changes on their own – those changes always happen as a result of public pressure. That’s why we’re about to ask if you can make a donation to help Mozilla take on Meta and raise attention about WhatsApp's vulnerabilities by working with activists, researchers, and journalists to protect elections worldwide.

There’s not much time left before a number of countries hold elections – including elections across Europe, India, Mexico and South Africa. If you’re able to add a donation today, your support will help keep up the pressure on Meta and show irresponsible tech companies that we’re prepared to hold them accountable.

Can you make a €23 donation to take on Meta in order to stop the spread of disinformation on WhatsApp and protect election integrity worldwide? With elections coming up very soon, we don’t have any time to waste.

After Mozilla researchers discovered systemic exploitation of WhatsApp broadcasting features in elections over the past five years, it is clear that much more must be done to prevent harmful content from being shared widely across the platform.

Here are the product changes that Mozilla is demanding from WhatsApp, to be implemented on polling days as well as during month-long periods preceding and following elections:

• Add friction to forwarding messages: Reduce the ease with which messages can be forwarded on the platform by adding one additional step which nudges users to pause and reflect before they forward content.
• Add disinformation warning labels to viral content: Automatically add clear “Highly forwarded: please verify” warning labels to viral messages, in addition to the “forwarded many times” label currently in use.
• Reduce WhatsApp’s broadcast capabilities: Disable the Communities feature and also limit the size of broadcast lists to 50 people and cap their usage to twice a day.

Elections taking place in 2024 will affect half of the world’s population, which means the stakes of this campaign are incredibly high. Without proper measures in place to curb the spread of disinformation and other harmful content, there is a potential risk of political violence and election outcomes being called into question.

The time for Meta to make these WhatsApp product updates is now – and it will require all of us in the Mozilla community to keep up the pressure. Every donation made to Mozilla is a direct investment in critical campaign work for our movement to reclaim the internet.

Can you make a €23 donation to Mozilla today to keep up the pressure on Meta and advance our WhatsApp campaign to protect elections. The only way we will be able to hold tech giants accountale is if we’re in this together.

Thank you for all you do for the internet and for adding a donation today to protect elections around the world.

Michael Whitney
Director, Digital Engagement
Mozilla