Google has been forced to publicly affirm that Gmail is “here to stay” after a hoax claiming it was shutting down went viral on social media.
A post on X, formerly Twitter, which has been read over seven million times, stated that it would close in August.
Google responded to the same platform to deny the bogus allegation.
Google Denies Gmail Is Shutting Down After Viral Hoax
A communications expert told the BBC that it was “a classic example” of the risks of misinformation.
“Most people believe what they see online, and there’s a lack of tools and processes to verify the facts,” said Richard Bagnall, CEO of CARMA, a communications evaluation organisation.
“Whilst social networks can act without responsibility and pump unfiltered, unverified information to their audiences, this Gmail incident won’t be the last case we’ll see.”
All social media sites struggle to combat misinformation, but X has been singled out for special criticism, with the EU saying in 2023 that it was worse than its rivals at propagating lies.
The corporation has previously stated that it is devoted to “tackling hate speech” while aiming to “protect free speech.”
The BBC has contacted X for comment on this scam, which appears to be based on an email from Google in 2023. It informed users that access to Gmail’s most basic HTML view would be disabled.
Google Denies Gmail Is Shutting Down After Viral Hoax
The initial HTML interface was utilised when Gmail started in 2004 and would be unfamiliar to most individuals who use the service today.
“We are reaching out to share an important update about Gmail,” the viral post states.
“After years of connecting millions worldwide, enabling seamless communication, and fostering countless connections, the journey of Gmail is coming to a close.”
Gmail is the world’s most popular email service, with over 1.5 billion active users globally, according to Statista.
Google Denies Gmail Is Shutting Down After Viral Hoax
Despite firmly denouncing the bogus claims in the hoax communication, Google has closed numerous services in recent years.
In 2023 alone, Google discontinued its Stadia gaming service and its Snapchat-like YouTube Stories feature and began deleting old and inactive Gmail accounts.
It has stated plans to close Google Podcasts however this service has been effectively replaced by YouTube Music, which it also controls.
SOURCE – (BBC)
