A post claiming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre is planning to distribute free smartphones to students amid coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic has gone viral on Facebook, WhatsApp and other social media platforms.
In the viral post, it has been claimed that since the lockdown imposed by PM Modi to curb the spread of coronavirus in the country has adversely affected the education of students, the government is helping students by providing them free smartphones.
The post also claimed that since schools and colleges are closed since the last week of March, the government is giving smartphones to all students in order to help them attend online classes and complete their studies. The viral post also has a link asking students to register on it.
दावा: कोरोना वायरस के कारण स्कूल और कॉलेज बंद होने के कारण छात्रों की शिक्षा प्रभावित हुई है, इसलिए सरकार सभी छात्रों को मुफ्त एंड्रॉइड स्मार्टफोन दे रही है #PIBfactcheck: यह दावा फर्जी है, केंद्र सरकार ने ऐसी कोई घोषणा नहीं की है. pic.twitter.com/LkFA2rMtSn
— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) August 24, 2020
However, PIB Fact check debunked the fake news on Monday (August 24) and said that no such announcement has been made by the government. The PIB Fact Check also advised the people to not click on the link as it could steal data from you.
It may be recalled that the Press Information Bureau had launched this fact-checking arm in December 2019, to curb misinformation and fake news prevalent on the Internet.
