Coronavirus / Report of telecom department providing free internet till May 3 is fake: Govt

New Delhi: The coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak and the nationwide lockwide announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to check the spread of deadly virus have proved to be a fertile breeding ground for different types of fake news and misinformation.

One such fake news which is viral these days claims that Department of Telecom is giving free internet to all users till May, 3, 2020, when lockdown is scheduled to end, to enable them to work from home.

दावा : भारतीय दूरसंचार विभाग ने सभी मोबाइल यूजर को 3 मई 2020 तक फ्री इंटरनेट देने का ऐलान किया है जिसे प्राप्त करने के लिए दिए गए लिंक पर क्लिक करना होगा

तथ्य :यह दावा बिलकुल झूठ है, व दिया गया लिंक फर्जी है|

कृप्या अफवाहों और जालसाज़ों से दूर रहें| pic.twitter.com/K31AGDNZ0p

— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) April 22, 2020

But there is no truth in this claim and state-run Prasar Bharati News Services on Wednesday (April 22) clarified that the order being cited for the claim is fake and the link is fradulent.

"Department of Telecom is not giving free internet to all users till 3rd May, 2020 to enable them to work from home by clicking on a given link. The claim is false and the link is fraudulent," PIB tweeted.

Notably, the use of Internet has increased manifold since the coronavirus outbreak as many people are forced to work from home due to the nationwide lockdown. For his part, Union Telecom Ministry Ravi Shankar Prasad had earlier said that the government is making efforts that people do not face connectivity isuses due to the lockdown.

In the meanwhile, Union Ministry of Home Affairs has clarified that reports claiming penal action against company Directors and management if their employees test positive for coronavirus are false. The MHA guidelines, however, prescribe penalties if the offence occurs with consent, cognisance or negligence of employe.