Cover image via mobipickerWhatsApp is the #1 source for news in several countries, this according to a Reuters Institute study that pulled in 71,805 respondents from 30 countries. And Malaysians are its biggest users with 51% using WhatsApp to get news.
In fact, WhatsApp's growth has been so phenomenal that its usage for news is starting to rival Facebook in a number of markets including Malaysia (51%), Brazil (46%), and Spain (32%), [noted the study](http://www.digitalnewsreport.org/survey/2017/overview-key-findings-2017/) published in Digital News Report.
Image via DigitalNewsReport
Additionally, Communications and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak said the study also mentioned Malaysians as getting 86% of their news from social media
Salleh added that WhatsApp was the main choice for consumers because of its many advantages such as simplicity and speed in communication and information sharing, and effective interfaces within an organisation.
Noting the fact that WhatsApp also helped ordinary businessmen to promote their endeavours without spending a lot of money, Salleh, however, cautioned that WhatsApp did have its disadvantages, of which the most glaring was when it was used to disseminate false information to tarnish a person's image.
As of July 2017, the number of monthly active WhatsApp users worldwide has reached more than 1.3 billion
The scintillating rise of WhatsApp as a major news force has made Facebook's decision to buy the messaging service for USD19 billion a brilliant one.
Now, every day, 55 billion WhatsApp messages are sent by its users from around the world and more than 100 million voice calls are sent.
