I'm not much for conspiracy theories, but it's interesting to note that The Guardian actually recommends people concerned about surveillance to stop using WhatsApp, without offering any alternatives.

>If you use WhatsApp as a way to avoid government surveillance due to its end-to-end encryption service, you should stop using it immediately.

In the wake of the UK snoopers charter having sailed through parliament, this seems odd. Occam's razor tells us that it's coincidence and bad reporting, but still.