The Phenomenon of Brazil’s Whistling Whatsapp Groups

How whistling groups on Whatsapp took over Brazil only weeks after emerging as a concept. 

Transcript

Well, here’s a strange one, that was World Champion whistler Geert Chatrou, and brace yourselves for an odd little story coming up, because Brazil has been taken by storm by whistling whatsapp groups. Yes, that’s what I said: whistling whatsapp groups. Some of these groups have even reached their limit of members - 1024 (arbitrary number, who knows) - in less than 24 hours. The rule in these groups is simple, typing and speaking are forbidden, and you are immediately removed if you break that rule. Only voice notes with whistling are allowed, with senders being allowed to emit whistles in any genre, tone, or length. These are then judged by the use of emojis and stickers, the only textual response allowed. 

The trend started only last month, originating in Brazil itself. Some are highly elaborate renditions of famous tunes, right down to original, chaotic, anarchic sounds. Whatever is produced, the audience judges. We live in a strange world, but the upside of these groups is that in a world of geopolitical craziness, this trend, and this story, exist in a parallel universe.