With the coronavirus pandemic stirring panic among citizens, misinformation and false claims have been setting the social media ablaze. From unverified claims being rampantly circulated on WhatsApp to morphed images surfacing on Twitter and Facebook, the past few weeks have seen a surge in the amount of fabricated content and fallacious arguments on social media. Among the misinformation, a piece, related to the ongoing lockdown in India, went viral on different platforms. As per the claim, which came as a doctored screenshot of an India Today headline, the lockdown has been extended till 4 May. However, it has been confirmed that the image was morphed and no such claim has been made by the Prime Minister or the concerned media channels.
Busting the fake information, the Fact Check unit of the Press Information Bureau (PIB) took to Twitter to offer clarity. “The image of a video grab circulating on social media claiming that the lockdown has been extended till May 4 is fake. No such announcement has been made by the Government till now. ,” it shared.
The image of a video grab circulating on social media claiming that the #LockDown has been extended till May 4 is #Fake.
No such announcement has been made by the Government till now. pic.twitter.com/B4vTk7A7y6
— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) April 4, 2020
As per the call given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier, the 21-day lockdown in India will continue till 14 April. There has been no official announcement by the Centre regarding the lockdown extension. However, several rumours have been doing the rounds in this regard. It is therefore advised to remain vigil and not to believe in messages on social media without verifying their authenticity. Citizens have also been advised from involving in rumour-mongering as it unnecessarily sets off panic alarms amid the ongoing crisis.
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