Fact Check: Govt to suspend WhatsApp service from 11:30 PM-6 AM?
By Lokmat English Desk | Published: October 13, 2021 06:39 PM2021-10-13T18:39:39+5:302021-10-13T18:39:39+5:30
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A viral WhatsApp message has been doing rounds claiming that the Government of India has issued an order to suspend the application during the night.
The message states that the government is banning WhatsApp, the instant messaging application developed by Facebook, from functioning during nights between 23:30 hours and 06:00 hours.
The deceptive message goes on to state that the user's accounts would be deactivated if the message was not forwarded to more users.
n addition, the widely circulated fake news added that a monthly charge would be applicable to WhatsApp users to activate one's account.
The message also claims that a new and safe WhatsApp account will be activated for users who follows the steps mentioned in the forwarded message.
Now, the Press India Bureau (PIB) has released a fact check update dismissing the same as fake.
ountering the misinforming message, a fact check update issued by the PIB urged users to avoid forwarding the message. Taking to Twitter, PIB shared, “It is being claimed in a forwarded message, that #WhatsApp will be closed from 11:30 pm to 6 am & a monthly charge will have to be paid to activate it.
#PIBFactCheck: This claim is #FAKE. No such announcement has been made by GOI. Do not engage with such fraudulent links.” The fake viral message first surfaced only a couple of days after social media giants, namely, WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook suffered a major unprecedented outage earlier this month.
