VIRAL CHECK: Centre warns against fake ministry statement enumerating COVID-19 related inputs

New Delhi: The Fact Check Unit of Press Information Bureau (PIB) has clarified that a message circulating on WhatsApp enumerating several COVID-19 related inputs is falsely claiming to be a press release by the Ministry of Health.

It clarified that the claims made in the message are fake, adding that no such press release has been issued by the Ministry of Health.

Sharing a picture of the fake press release, PIB Fact Check from its official Twitter handle tweeted today, “A message circulating on WhatsApp enumerating several COVID-19 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”

According to PIB’s Fact Check Unit, the fake press release claimed, “The fears expressed earlier regarding the spread of COVID-19 in India for the last 3-4 weeks were finally confirmed today in the press release issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).”

एक #WhatsApp मैसेज में दावा किया जा रहा है कि सरकारी विभागों को छोड़कर अन्य किसी भी व्यक्ति द्वारा कोरोना से जुड़े संदेश पोस्ट करने पर दंडात्मक कार्यवाही की जाएगी। #PIBFactCheck: इस मैसेज में किया गया दावा #फ़र्ज़ी है। pic.twitter.com/lJCUOkNEXn

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

In order to check the spread of fake news on social media and following observations of the Supreme Court, PIB had set up a dedicated unit to bust rumours getting viral on social media.

‘PIB Fact Check’ is a verified handle on Twitter that continuously monitors trending messages on social media platforms and conducts a comprehensive review of its contents to bust fake news.