New Delhi, March 25: Fake messages on WhatsApp, Facebook and other social media websites and mobile apps are being circulated rampantly amid the coronavirus lockdown not just in India but around the world. With Prime Minister Narendra Modi announcing a countrywide lockdown amid the rising cases of coronavirus in the country, a few netizens took to social networking sites and claimed that the Internet would also be suspended for 10 days. Soon after the first tweet of a supposed internet ban, people started sharing the message and even took a swipe at it, asking PM Modi if the news was true.

Though the news making the rounds on the social media that internet is being suspended for 10 days -- starting 12 midnight -- there has been no official confirmation made by any government official at any forum. So, the rumour of an internet shutdown down by the Government of India is fake, and it has been circulated wither as a joke or conspiracy. Fact Check: Audio Clip Claiming Nagpur Has 59 Positive Coronavirus Cases Is FAKE; Here’s the Truth Behind the Viral WhatsApp Message.

However, with rumours of internet ban spreading like wildfire, there were some who asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi if the news about internet shutdown was true or fake! Here are some of the tweets:

There were others also who shared the screenshot of a television news channel broadcasting news about the internet shutdown on WhatsApp. The report is false and the screenshot is also fake. The internet will keep functioning normally.

Fact check

Fact Check: News of PM Narendra Modi Announcing Internet Shutdown in India for 10 Days, Starting 12 Midnight is Fake; Know The Truth Behind Viral WhatsApp Message
Claim :

Internet to be shut down in India for 10 days, starting from 12 AM, in the wake of coronavirus.

Conclusion :

There has been no official confirmation made by any government official at any forum. So, the rumour of internet being pulled down by the Government of India is fake, and it has been circulated for fun.

Full of Trash
Clean

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 27, 2020 12:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).