A contentious video uploaded by a Youtube channel named Tech9587 had claimed that military lockdown would be imposed in the city of Mumbai between May 8 and May 17. The video which is now being widely shared on Whatsapp has also alleged that only dairy shops, pharmacies, and hospitals would remain open during the said period.
The person who made this public announcement in Marathi could be seen sitting on the back seat of an autorickshaw. To ensure that the information spread far and wide, he had also arranged for a loudspeaker. The man alleged that there is a positive case of the Wuhan Coronavirus, in every nook and corner of the city, due to people violating lockdown rules in the name of grocery shopping.
The video further claimed that if Mumbai was not shut down completely, then, cases in the country might rise up to a whopping 1 crore. The archived version of the said video can be accessed here.
What is the Truth?
On Friday, Press Information Bureau (PIB) took to Twitter to debunk the misleading claims made in the above-mentioned video. Labelling the information about “military lockdown” as fake, PIB reiterated that no army or navy personnel have been deployed for the maintenance of law and order situation in the city of Mumbai.
Claim: A #WhatsApp forward says there’ll be a military lockdown in Mumbai for 10 days, starting from Saturday#PIBFactCheck: Message is #Fake. No Army/Navy personnel are being deployed for maintaining law and order in the city @adgpi @indiannavy pic.twitter.com/mwcetEsas1
— PIB in Maharashtra 🇮🇳 #MaskYourself 😷 (@PIBMumbai) May 8, 2020
Fake News Amidst Pandemic
Earlier, former Aaj Tak and ABP News journalist Punya Prasun Bajpai had posted an image that showed the chapped, rough feet of some children. He added the text, “Mother India ke panv dekhe hain kabhi”? which means, ‘have you ever seen the feet of mother India? As pointed out by Twitter user @theFirstHandle, Bajpai had used an image that was published in a 2018 report by The London Post, in an article titled “Real Face of Pakistani Democracy- Children need a sponsor for medical treatment”.
On May 8, a Twitter user named Hussain shared a video claiming that Air India, the national carrier of India, has charged three times the normal fare to its passengers under the pretext of social distancing. On Friday, Press Information Bureau (PIB) took to Twitter to clarify that the contentious video wherein passengers are seen complaining about lack of social distancing, despite high fares belonged to a “neighbouring country” (Pakistan).
