India lockdown till May 4? Viral screenshot about lockdown extension is fake

A screenshot of IndiaTV and AajTak informing about an extension in the lockdown period till May 4 is false and doctored.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced a 21-day lockdown in order to contain the spread of coronavirus on March 24. Every since this happened, there have been speculations that the lockdown might be extended seeing a surge in novel coronavirus cases. Some social media users have been sharing images of India Today and Aaj Tak news channels running claims that the Prime Minister has announced the extension of lockdown.

These images are manipulated and hold no bearing. Neither has the PM made any such announcement nor have India Today or Aaj Tak broadcast any such news reports.

Some media platforms dedicated to finding out false and fake news and shares have also claimed that these claims are false. No official announcement of the lockdown being extended has been made so far.

Fact Check

A graphic claiming to be from India Today stating the ongoing 21-day lockdown, which is to end on April 14, has been extended to May 4, 2020, is morphed and fake.

There are grammatical errors galore in the viral image, which includes a photo of the prime minister.

The text says, "all-India lockdown increased till 04th May'. It also says 'India under lockdown dates increased' and 'PM announces to shut down everything till 04th May."

The image, however, looks photoshopped and the channel has not shown any such news.

Facebook user 'Jo Moh' uploaded an image with the caption: "Ops this lockdown till the end of May 4.. extend hogya re lockdown."

The image had the logo of India Today. Prime Minister can be seen in the image and it accompanies the text, "All India Lockdown increased till 4^th May." A similar message is seen written near the bottom of the image.

Unsuspecting folks might easily fall for this. And it only creates unnecessary panic.

What is the truth?

There are sites saying that the photo is morphed. The image seen in the post is from the day India Today broadcast Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address in which he announced the lockdown. Incorrect messages have replaced the actual messages that supported the image. The difference in fonts between the two images is apparent.

On March 24, PM Narendra Modi had announced a pan-India lockdown for three weeks to control novel coronavirus from spreading. The lockdown is supposed to end on April 14. Since then social media has been flooded with speculation that the lockdown might be extended.

However, it should be noted that according to the Press Information Bureau of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Tweet, which was made on March 30, 2020, Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba had denied the assumption that the government will extend the lockdown.