It's not certain if or when this will reach the standard WhatsApp releases, although its presence in the beta program suggests it's largely a matter of time.

The messaging giant is certainly under pressure to act. Critics have blamed fake news on WhatsApp for spurring lynchings and other violence in India, and Facebook has gone so far as to run newspaper ads and hire dedicated staff to keep a lid on misinformation. If WhatsApp can call out questionable messages through methods like this, it might not need to resort to drastic measures in the future.