New Delhi, May 2: The Press Information Bureau (PIB) - the media wing of the Indian government - debunked a fake news related to coronavirus masks going viral on social media. The PIB statement came amid viral posts which claimed that the government is distributing free masks to the public under PM Mask Yojana. New N95 Face Masks by Huami to Allow Facial Recognition Smoothly on Smartphones.

The fact-check handle of the PIB posted a statement to trash the fake news. It clarified that no such scheme has been launched by the government. Readers were asked to exercise caution and refrain from spreading rumours garbed as news.

"Claim : Amidst #CoronaOutbreak, a social media message claims free masks are being distributed by Government under 'PM Mask Yojana'. A link is provided for placement of orders. PIB Fact Check: There is no such scheme. This is a fraudulent link. Do not spread such #FakeNews (sic)," said PIB on Twitter.

See PIB Fact Check Tweet

"PIB rejects a social media message which claims that amidst coronavirus outbreak free masks are being distributed by the government under PM Mask Yojana. It says there is no such scheme and link shared in the message is fake," said another statement issued by the All India Radio (AIR).

Fact check

Free Masks Distributed Under Govt's PM Mask Yojana? PIB Fact Check Debunks Fake News on Coronavirus
Claim :

Government distributing free face masks under PM Face Mask Yojana.

Conclusion :

Fake news. No such scheme launched by the Centre to distribute face masks.

Full of Trash
Clean

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 02, 2020 11:54 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).