WhatsApp forward about Covid-19 inputs deemed as fake news by Centre

The Fact Check department of the Press Information Bureau (PIB) of India has confirmed a statement about Covid-19 inputs, circulating widely on WhatsApp, to be fake news. The statement, in contention, provides various Covid-19 related numerical inputs about new strains of the virus and claims to be a press release from the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).

In a Twitter post, PIB Fact Check clarified that the claims made about Covid-19 strains in the said statement are all fake news on WhatsApp and no such information has been released by MoHFW.

A message circulating on #WhatsApp enumerating several #COVID19 related inputs is #falsely claiming to be a press release put out by the Ministry of Health.#PIBFactCheck

The claims made in the message are #Fake. No such Press Release has been issued by the @MoHFW_INDIA. pic.twitter.com/Fibmfe4cxW

— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) April 15, 2021

The WhatsApp message in question talks at length about new strains of Covid-19 that are popping up around the country. It claims that all information mentioned has been released by MoHFW, which isn’t the case.

Through another Twitter post, PIB Fact Check quashed another WhatsApp message that was circulating on the social media app. It claimed that anyone other than government authorities posting information regarding Covid-19 will be a punishable offence. It has been confirmed that this message is also fake.

PIB Fact Check, on Twitter, is the verified handle of the Fact Check unit of PIB, which is designated with verifying any information or news surrounding various press releases by the Indian Government.

The public is requested to be wary of fake news and information regarding Covid-19 that is circulating on various websites and social media applications like WhatsApp. Kindly verify that information before acting on it.