False: Administrators of 52 WhatsApp groups were detained at Dadar cybercrime for spreading fake news about covid-19.

By: Aswathi K
May 11 2020

Share Article:

The About section of the Ministry of Home Affairs and a tweet by the Press Information Bureau confirms that the message being circulated is fake. A message claiming that 52 WhatsApp group admins were detained and a case is being registered by the Mumbai Police's cyber crime cell in Dadar has gone viral. Whereas, the second part says any post related to coronavirus has been declared as an offence. The details of Who's Who published on the MHA website shows that there is no person by name Ravi Nayak nor there is a designation of Principal Secretary in the Home department as mentioned in the forwarded message. However, there is a designation of Principal secretary, and that person works for the Home ministry of State governments and not the MHA India. The other half of the claim was dismissed by the PIB which tweeted on 3 March 2020 that the message being circulated in the name of Ministry of Home affairs is fake. It mentioned that MHA has not issued any such order related to coronavirus. The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a lot of potentially dangerous misinformation. For reliable advice on COVID-19 including symptoms, prevention and available treatment, please refer to the World Health Organisation or your national healthcare authority.