A warning message requesting people not to accept a video titled 'Amit Shah disowns Modi' has been fast circulated on Whatsapp. It seems to be a fake, as there is no government's announcement regarding it.
The widely circulated Whatsapp message reads, "Pls inform to all the contacts on your list not to accept a video called the "Amit Shah disowns Modi" It is a virus that formats your mobile. It is very dangerous. They announced it on the radio today. Fwd this MSG to as many as you can. High alert Pls block this no 9266600223 They are credit/debit card hackers. Pls inform all your near and dear ones."
Verifying the claim
Firstly, there is no such announcement about the virus made on any Radio station. Secondly, we did not find any information on Google when we searched for the details of any such virus. Thirdly, if there is such a dangerous virus, the government would have made an official announcement about and cautioned the people about its adverse effects. So there is no need to panic and forward the above message.
The person, who first created the message, has also requested the people to block the mobile phone number – 9266600223. When we checked the details of this number on Truecaller, we found out that it is registered with the name 'Crd Credit Card (Fraud)' and 46,830 people have reported it as spam under the category of 'Finance, Insurance & Legal'. He might have created to punish the person with this no cheated him with his credit card.
Of late, social media channels especially WhatsApp have become platforms to circulate false news and misinformation and create a deluge among the general public. Many people have fallen prey for misleading information about politicians, celebrities, and current affairs like novel COVID-19. Some celebs and politicians have tried to create awareness about the developments, but all their efforts have gone in vain.
This is not the first time such a false claim is made on social media. Back in 2017, a claim titled 'Sonia disowns Rahul' had created a lot of buzz on social media. But some fact-checking agencies were successful in bringing the fact before the public. We request our readers to fact check before forwarding such messages on WhatsApp or any other social media platforms.
