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Google denies Gmail is shutting down after viral hoax

The tech giant says its email service is 'here to stay' after a hoax picked up 7m views on social media.

"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." All social media platforms struggle to stop misinformation, but X has been singled out for particular criticism on the issue, with the EU claiming in 2023 it was worse than its peers in terms of spreading falsehoods.

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