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Army dismisses reports claiming personnel are deployed in Gujarat to enforce lockdown
A tweet from official Twitter account of Additional Directorate General of Public Information debunked the false claim.
Numerous fake stories and false claims surrounding the ongoing coronavirus outbreak are making their way online and at times in print media too. The recent one in the list is a false news report involving the Indian Army. The false narrative claims that Indian Army has deployed personnel in Gujarat to enforce the ongoing lockdown. The claim also states that special instructions are given to personnel on leave and due for retirement under the current circumstances. The official Twitter account of Additional Directorate General of Public Information (ADG PI) shared a post rubbishing the claim.
“Fake and incorrect news found published in print media about Army deployment in Gujarat and instructions given to Army personnel on leave and due for retirement under present circumstances,” the department tweeted. They also requested the media outlets to confirm any news from authorised sources before publishing.
The tweet collected several reactions and many suggested the Army or the Indian government to take action against those publishing misleading news.
“Please take legal action against them,” wrote a Twitter user. “Sue whoever recorded it,” expressed another. “How shameful and irresponsible,” wrote a third.
Several authoritative bodies across the nation are fighting to curb the spread of fake news related to coronavirus. Among them is the fact check body of PIB that counters misinformation on government policies or schemes through posts on social media.
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