h, the WhatsApp uncles. Most of us have at least one in our family. That special someone who sends a barrage of forwarded messages that you didn’t ask for. You now have to sift through it, often with a mix of confusion, frustration and occasional laughter. It’s like they’ve taken on the role of the family’s informal news source—with a fondness for conspiracy theories and poorly written chain messages.

The phenomenon refers to old men who have embraced the digital age, maybe a little too enthusiastically. They forward everything: from religious sermons to political propaganda, from hilarious memes to absolutely fake news. The best part is they do this with the zeal of someone who has just discovered fire.

Let me paint you a picture. It’s a peaceful Sunday morning. You’re sipping your chai, planning a lazy day. Suddenly, your phone buzzes. It’s the uncle. Ah, yes, another forwarded message. You open it, expecting to see something bizarre, and lo and behold—it’s a blurry photo of someone’s pet goat, followed by a message claiming that the government is planning to tax animals by 2025. The meme is unintelligible, but the uncle has, of course, stamped it with: “Forward this to 10 people, or the goat gets it.“

The first few times, it’s kind of funny. But after the twentieth forward in the day, you wonder if your uncle has joined a secret WhatsApp society, where the only rule is forward first, ask questions… never.

The problem is that WhatsApp uncles don’t just stop at harmless jokes or animal memes. They also seem to love forwarding misinformation. Take, for example, health advice. One day it’s a miraculous cure for diabetes (just rub lemons on your feet), the next day it’s a homemade concoction to prevent Covid-19. They mean well; they really do. It’s just... how do you explain to the uncle that no, rubbing lemons on your feet won’t cure anything but dry skin?

The real issue is that they often don’t fully grasp the power or consequences of what they are forwarding. For them, if it’s on the internet, it must be true. Never mind that the source is a random blog with dozens of spelling mistakes in the title—if it says what they are willing to believe, they’ll share it with everyone they know.

When it comes to political propaganda, things get even messier. An uncle might innocently forward a message claiming that the economy is about to collapse, which, of course, can lead to all sorts of panic. These “facts” (more like fantasies) tend to spread like wildfire in WhatsApp family groups. Suddenly everyone’s convinced the sky is falling.

Let’s not even talk about the damage such misinformation can cause in the business world. With WhatsApp uncles forwarding calls for boycotts—based on erroneous or misleading claims—companies can suffer real consequences. Jobs are lost and reputations ruined because someone decided to forward a message they didn’t fact-check.

The irony here? Social media was supposed to make us more informed, right? We now have access to more information than ever before, but also more misinformation. The bored uncles of the world have found their digital megaphones in the form of WhatsApp. Combine that with their undying enthusiasm for “being helpful,” and you’ve got yourself a recipe for chaos.

But hey, let’s cut them some slack. They’re navigating this digital landscape just like the rest of us. If anything, their forwards remind us that we need to be more mindful about what we share. So next time you get that blurry goat meme or questionable health tip, maybe take a moment before hitting forward.

In the meantime, brace yourself for the next message from the uncle—it’s probably a video of a dancing parrot with the caption, “Forward this to five people for good luck.”

The writer is the head of content at a communications agency