Farmers’ Protest: Govt Using Signal Jammers to Suppress Agitation Updates on Social Media? PIB Fact Check Terms It ‘Fake News’
A post is going viral on social platforms claiming that the central government is using signal jammers on social media to suppress the updates of the ongoing farmers' protest. The fake and misleading news triggered confusion and panic among people.
New Delhi, December 12: A viral post is doing rounds on social media platforms claiming that the central government is using signal jammers on social media to suppress the updates of the ongoing farmers' protest. The fake and misleading news triggered confusion and panic among people. The misinformation is being circulated on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp. This comes at a time when a large number of farmers are protesting against the Centre’s new farm laws.
Dismissing the fake claims, a fact check by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) stated that the claim is absolutely fake and no such step of using jammers on social media has been taken by the central government. "This claim is fake. No such step has been taken by the central government", the PIB tweeted. Farmers' Protest: 2 IPS Officers, Leading Police Force at Singhu Border, Test Positive For COVID-19.
Here's the tweet by PIB:
The farmers' protest is being held after the sixth round of talks between the government and farm union leaders, which was scheduled for Wednesday morning, was cancelled. The farmer leaders have been adamant on their demand to scrap the laws, which they believe will lead to dismantling of the Minimum Support Price (MSP) mechanism and mandis that benefit them. The government has always been defending these farm laws, saying they will benefit the farmers in the long run and raise their incomes.
In Delhi, several routes were shut due to the farmers' agitation. The Delhi Traffic Police on Thursday took to Twitter to inform commuters about routes closed for traffic in view of thousands of protesters camping at the city's borders. People were also advised to take alternative routes to avoid inconvenience.
Fact check
A viral post claims that the Government has put jammers on social media to suppress the peasant movement.
A fact check by PIB states that the claim is fake and revealed that no such step has been taken by the central government.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 12, 2020 02:20 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).