New Delhi, October 6: A post which claims the government is providing free internet to students is going viral on messaging app WhatsApp. The viral post, which also carries a link, claims 10GB internet data is being provided to every student in the country by the government so that they can study and appear for exams. Since the post is widely circulated, the government issued a clarification, calling it fake. Rs 3000 Being Deposited in Bank Accounts by Centre Under Pradhan Mantri Mandhan Yojana? PIB Fact Check Calls It Fake News.

The viral WhatsApp post read: "Due to Corona Virus Schools and colleges have been closed and because of this, the education of students has been affected, so government is providing Free Laptops to all the students. So that students can complete their education and also give exams with the help of internet and online classes (sic)." PIB Fact Check, a dedicated portal which counters misinformation about government's policies and schemes, termed it a fake message. Tax Imposed on School Textbooks by Centre? PIB Fact Check Terms Viral Reports Fake News.

PIB Fact Check tweeted: "It is claimed in a #WhatsApp message that government is providing free internet to all the students so that they can give online exams and complete their education amid #COVID19 pandemic. This claim is #Fake. No such decision has been taken by government (sic)." The fake message is old and has resurfaced on social media platforms.

Nowadays, fake news and misinformation go viral as many people blindly trust what they find on social media platforms and forward it to others. LatestLY advises its readers not to believe anything or everything that you receive on WhatsApp or see on Facebook and Twitter. Always verify news or information before sharing them with others.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 06, 2020 05:23 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).