Alexander Lewis
Feb 27, 2024
An undated image of the Gmail logo is displayed on a screen.—Freepik
Google has publicly refuted the rumour which has long been making rounds on the internet, claiming that the Google's Gmail will soon be shut down.
The widely disseminated rumour on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, specified August 2024 as the month when Google would be ceasing its world class mailing platform.
With the viral rumour on X stating, "we are reaching out to share an important update about Gmail," the search engine giant took to the same platform, X (formerly Twitter), to brush away the misinformation.
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"After years of connecting millions worldwide, enabling seamless communication, and fostering countless connections, the journey of Gmail is coming to a close," the post added.
"Most people believe what they see online, and there's a lack of tools and processes to verify the facts," said Richard Bagnall, boss of communications evaluation firm 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," he added.
The hoax has emerged at a time when all the social media platforms are taking appropriate measures to combat the spread of false information.
The Elon Musk-led X assured of its committed to "tackling hate speech" but also wants to "protect free speech."
The rumor seems to be coming from an actual email sent by Google in 2023, informing users that access to Gmail's basic HTML view would be discontinued. According to Statista, Gmail is the most widely used email service in the world, with over 1.5 billion active users worldwide.
While Google has adamantly denied the false allegations in the hoax message, it is accurate that the company has discontinued some services in recent years.
