A graphic which appears to be a ‘Breaking News’ bulletin with PM Narendra Modi’s image in it has gone viral with the claim that the PM has announced one week internet shut down in India to deter the spread of misinformation surrounding COVID-19.
The graphic has the logo of Hindi news channel, Aaj Tak, on the top right corner. The headline reads, ‘PM Announced To Shut Down Internet Services For 1 Week, To Avoid Panic In Public Through Social Media.’
Similar graphic with the logo of ABP News has also surfaced online.
One of our community members also sent it to us on our WhatsApp fact check number asking us to verify the claim.
Claim:
PM Modi has announced internet shutdown.
Fact Check:
The claim is false.
PM Modi did not announce an internet shutdown during the lockdown.
ABP News Bulletin
On comparing the actual ABP Bulletin from 24 March with the title ‘Coronavirus Crisis: PM Modi Puts India Under Complete Lockdown For 21 Days’ with the viral graphic, several discrepancies were found.
The top band and Narendra Modi’s attire are the same in both, the lower band, however, is different, both in the terms of content and layout.
The viral photo has a red band whereas the original bulletin has a yellow band with a completely different headline.
On viewing the entire broadcast, no such claims on internet shutdown could be found. PM Modi only announced that a lockdown was to be imposed.
Aaj Tak News Bulletin
In the case of the Aaj Tak bulletin, the actual one has a totally different layout from the viral graphic. Aaj Tak uses the ‘Breaking News’ band in a different format.
Aaj Tak bulletins display both a headline and no lower band.
Also, PM Modi’s attire does not match in the two photos.
It must be noted that Aaj Tak is a Hindi news channel and therefore does not display information in English as the viral graphic showed.
Therefore, internet shutdown was not announced by PM Modi and the viral graphics are fake.
If you have any news that you believe needs to be fact-checked, please email us at factcheck@thelogicalindian.com or WhatsApp at 6364000343
Also Read: Fact Check: Audio Clip Claiming Lockdown Extension Is False
