Google denies Gmail is shutting down after viral hoax

Google has needed to publicly state Gmail is “here to stay” after a hoax claiming it was shutting down unfold broadly on social media.

A publish on X, previously Twitter, which has been considered greater than seven million occasions, claimed it might be closing in August.

Google took to the identical platform to rebuff the false declare.

A communications skilled instructed the BBC 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,” mentioned Richard Bagnall, boss of communications analysis agency, CARMA.

“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 platforms battle to cease misinformation, however X has been singled out for explicit criticism on the difficulty, with the EU claiming in 2023 it was worse than its friends when it comes to spreading falsehoods.

The firm has beforehand mentioned it’s dedicated to “tackling hate speech” but in addition needs to “protect free speech”.

The BBC has approached X for remark about this hoax, which seems to be based mostly on an actual e mail despatched by Google in 2023. It notified people who Gmail would cease entry to its most simple HTML view.

The unique HTML view was used when Gmail launched in 2004, and can be unrecognisable to most individuals who use the service these days.

“We are reaching out to share an important update about Gmail,” the viral publish reads.

“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 hottest e mail service, with greater than 1.5bn lively customers worldwide, in response to Statista.

And regardless of emphatically rejecting the false claims within the hoax message, it’s true that Google has shut some companies in recent times.

In 2023 alone, Google killed its Stadia gaming service, its Snapchat-like YouTube Stories characteristic, and it started closing previous and inactive Gmail accounts.

It has has introduced plans to shut Google Podcasts, although this performance has successfully been supplanted by YouTube Music, which it additionally owns.