Earlier quoted context omitted.
Source? I've never see an Apple advertisement that would lead me to believe I can't use WhatsApp or Signal or any other messaging application.
Anecdotal sources: Every group of peers that wouldn't have excluded me from the group chat if it didn't "turn green"
I don't have a problem with people discriminating against MMS, but everyone I know doesn't have a problem using any of the other decent alternatives that work on both Android and iOS.