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Received this viral WhatsApp forward about Covid XBB variant? Beware, it’s fake
The Ministry of Health took to Twitter to debunk the fake news about Covid XBB variant being forwarded on WhatsApp.
With an increase in coronavirus cases in China and some other parts of the world, the Indian government has asked the states to up their vigil and keep an eye on cases of the new variants. With this, several misleading and fake claims about the XBB variant of Covid-19 are also appearing online. One such fake claim is this viral WhatsApp forward that lists different symptoms of getting infected by the variant. It also claims that this particular variant is “deadly and not easy to detect correctly.” The Ministry of Health recently took to Twitter to bust the claim as fake and advised people not believe it.
What does the fake message say?
“XBB variant. Let's pay attention to the following information: Everyone is advised to wear a mask because the new variant of the COVID-Omicron XBB coronavirus is different, deadly and not easy to detect correctly,” reads the opening lines of the long text.
What did the Ministry of Health say?
Taking to their official Twitter handle, the ministry shared a post along with a screenshot of the viral message. “#FakeNews. This message is circulating in some Whatsapp groups regarding XBB variant of #COVID19. The message is #FAKE and #MISLEADING,” they tweeted.
Take a look at the post:
Since being shared a few hours ago, the post has received close to 1,900 likes. People have also shared tweets thanking the ministry for debunking the fake news.
Here's how tweeple reacted to the post:
Just like this Twitter user who shared, “Thanks for the clarification.” Another person wrote, “Could the source of such news be identified and strict action taken against the perpetrators?” A third posted, “Thanks for the information.” A fourth wrote, “Thanks for sharing the right information.”
