These warning messages against possible malware attacks on WhatsApp are a hoax - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 18, 2021
A post claiming that BBC radio has warned against possible malware (Martinelli, WhatsApp Gold & Dance of the Pope) attacks on WhatsApp is being shared on social media. Through this article let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: BBC radio’s warning against possible malware attacks on WhatsApp.
Fact: Warning messages related to possible malware attacks through WhatsApp videos named ‘Martinelli’ & ‘Dance of the Pope’ are actually a hoax and have been in circulation for quite a while. Malware attacks in the name of WhatsApp Gold did take place in 2016. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
We could not find any official statement from BBC or any other news article mentioning that BBC has issued these warning messages. However, our research found that warning messages related to ‘Martinelli’ & ‘Dance of the Pope’ are hoaxes, whereas malware attacks in the name WhatsApp Gold did take place earlier.
Martinelli:
Google search with relevant keywords led us to a 2017 tweet by Spanish police saying that the WhatsApp message regarding Marinelli video is a hoax.
Circula por #WhatsApp📱 este mensaje advirtiendo sobre el "vídeo de Martinelli"👉🏻#Stopbulos, ✋🏻no lo compartas https://t.co/TtAb0aYNUE pic.twitter.com/R4aOovWAo3
Few fact-checkers have debunked the same viral message as a hoax back in 2018. One such fact-check story can be read here. News article mentioning that the video (which the viral message warns about) is not real and that it is making rounds for quite some time now can be read here.
WhatsApp Gold:
Through Google search with relevant keywords, we found that the malware attack in the name WhatsApp Gold did take place earlier. UK’s national fraud and cybercrime reporting center cautioned their citizens back in 2016 regarding the malware attack in the name of WhatsApp Gold.
According to a news article, WhatsApp has distanced itself from the malware attack saying it has nothing to do with the WhatsApp Gold or WhatsApp Plus. However, the warning message has been doing the rounds since 2016 and has surfaced again.
Dance of the Pope:
We could not find any news articles or official reports of incidents of malware attacks through a WhatsApp video named ‘Dance of the Pope’. However the warning message has being doing rounds since 2015.
Few fact-checkers have debunked the warning message earlier and said it to be a hoax. One such fact-check story can be read here. News articles which state that the warning messages are nothing but a hoax and are in circulation for quite a while can be read and here.
To sum it up, these warning messages against possible malware attacks on WhatsApp are a hoax and have been doing rounds for quite a while.