In order to check the spread of fake news on social media and following observations of the Supreme Court, PIB set up a dedicated unit to bust rumours getting viral on the social media. ‘PIBFactCheck’ is a verified handle on Twitter that continuously monitors trending messages on social media platforms and conducts comprehensive review of its contents to bust fake news. Besides, PIB_India handle and various PIB regional unit handles on Twitter are posting official and authentic version of any item on Twitter using the hashtag #PIBFactCheck for the benefit of the Twitter community at large.

Any person can submit to PIBFactCheck any social media message, including text, audio and video, to check its authenticity. These can be submitted online on the link https://factcheck.pib.gov.in/ or on Whatsapp No. +918799711259 or email: pibfactcheck[at]gmail[dot]com. The details are also available on PIB website: https://pib.gov.in

PIBFactCheck has today tweeted five items carrying the official version. A prominent trending rumour floating in the social media saying, “Scroll -a prominent media portal has claimed children in Jehanabad, Bihar are eating frogs as they have no food at home. The video has since gone viral,” was busted. The claim was found to be false. Jehanabad DM said there is sufficient food in the homes of the children.

PIBFactCheck suo moto posted a tweet in Hindi busting the myth that insecticides like the Sodium Hypochloride can be sprayed on people, stating the fact that it is used to disinfect articles frequently touched by people and can be harmful on humans. A similar clarification in English was tweeted by PIB Mumbai.

Meanwhile PIB Lucknow busted a rumour that UP Police, UP Dial 112, has issued Rules & Regulations for operating WhatsApp groups. It was clarified that no such Advisory has been issued. PIB Lucknow also busted a fake media report that Ambedkar Nagar youth Rizwan died due to injuries inflicted by the police. It was clarified the victim’s post-mortem report states that death occurred due to pericardial effusion, submitting pictures of the 4-page post-mortem report.

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KSD/SS/PK