Gujarat Samachar Newspaper Shows 8000 People per 1 Lakh Population Infected by COVID-19 in India; PIB Reveals Truth Behind Fake News
In a latest such case, a leading newspaper in Gujarat made a factual error, which triggered panic among people. The claim states that 'Gujarat Samachar' shows figure of 8000 people per 1 lakh population being coronavirus affected in India in its headline on Thursday.
New Delhi, May 21: Ever since the coronavirus outbreak in India, fake news and misinformation around COVID-19 have been spreading like wildfire on social media platforms. Fake news has seen a surge on Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp, causing panic and fear among people. In a latest such case, a leading newspaper in Gujarat made a factual error, which triggered panic among people. The claim states that 'Gujarat Samachar', a Gujarati newspaper, shows figure of 8000 people per 1 lakh population being coronavirus affected in India in its headline on Thursday.
Dismissing the claim, a fact check report by Press Information Bureau (PIB) Gujarat revealed that the viral claim is factually incorrect and false. PIB debunked the rumour and said as of May 21 evening, around 8.3 persons per 1 lakh population are corona affected. On Wednesday, the Health Ministry had said that across the world 4.2 people per lakh population have succumbed to the COVID-19, while India has recorded 0.2 deaths per lakh population. Gujarat: 16 Private Hospitals Get Notice for Turning Away Coronavirus Patients.
Here's the tweet by PIB:
In Gujarat, the COVID-19 tally rose to 12,539 on Thursday while the death toll stood at 749. Ahmedabad was the worst-hit, crossing the 600 mark with 602 deaths. On Thursday, India witnessed the highest single-day spike of 5,609 cases and 132 deaths in the past 24 hours. The total number of cases increased to 1,12,359 while the death toll mounted to 3435.
Fact check
Gujarat Samachar claims in its headline that 8000 people per 1 lakh population are infected by COVID-19 in India
PIB says the information is factually incorrect as around 8.3 persons per 1 lakh population are affected by COVID-19 in India as on Thursday
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 21, 2020 07:25 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).