A message along with a video of a police officer is going viral on social media. The message states that from midnight onwards (no date mentioned), the Disaster Management Act has been implemented across the country, as per which apart from government departments, no other citizen is allowed to post any update or share any forward related to the novel coronavirus.
It is a punishable offence so admins are requested to inform their group members, the message reads.
With the message, a video of a police officer is attached who can be heard saying that if a person posts anything offensive, then the group admin will be responsible and will also face legal action.
India Today’s Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found that the viral message is misleading.
The central government on March 24, the day when the 21-day lockdown was announced, had stated that the Disaster Management Act, 2005 was being invoked to deal with Covid-19. See the copy of order here.
As per the act, there is no such provision which says that apart from government departments, no other citizen is allowed to update or share news related to a disaster.
The viral message also contains a video of a police officer who can be heard saying that if anyone posts any offensive message, then the group admin will be held responsible.
Leave a Reply