True: The Uttar Pradesh Police filed a criminal complaint against a youth who sought oxygen for his grandfather via Twitter.

By: Ganashree N A
April 29 2021

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Uttar Pradesh police have booked an FIR against Shashank Yadav for allegedly tweeting a false message about the non-availability of medical oxygen.The second wave of COVID-19 has crippled India's healthcare system. There is a shortage of medical oxygen, ventilators, and beds in hospitals. Amid this, many social media posts have gone viral, the majority with false information. Amethi police lodged an FIR against Shashank Yadav in one such incident, alleging that he tweeted a false message to create fear among people about the shortage of oxygen cylinders. The post went viral after the youth had tweeted asking for help for his 88-year-old grandfather. Police stated that they discovered the patient died due to a heart attack and was not diagnosed with COVID-19, and had not required oxygen support. Police officials said that Shashank had been booked under the IPC and Epidemic Act for spreading misleading information on social media to target the state government. 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.