An altered graphic edited from the bulletin of Rajasthan-based news channel – First India News – is doing the rounds on social media to falsely claim that the Ministry of Home Affairs has announced that all schools and colleges will remain closed till 31 December.
CLAIM
The claim as written on the graphic reads: “गृह मंत्रालय का बहुत बड़ा फ़ैसला-31 दिसबर तक पूरे देश में सभी जगह स्कूल और कॉलेज बंद रहेंगे” [Translation: In a major decision, the Home Ministry has declared that all schools and colleges will remain closed till 31 December.]
The aforementioned graphic is viral on Facebook and Twitter with the same misleading claim. We also received a query regarding this on our WhatsApp tipline.
WHAT WE FOUND
We searched the official website of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Google for credible news reports around the said development. However, there was no official announcement or news updates.
Next, we searched the official YouTube channel of First India News and didn’t find any bulletin which carried the information mentioned in the viral graphic.
Further, we found a tweet by the channel which said that the viral graphic in circulation is morphed and they didn’t broadcast any such news. The statement in Hindi translates to: “A breaking news template of First India News has been edited to say that the Home Ministry has declared that schools and colleges will remain shut till 31 December. The channel has no connection whatsoever with this misleading piece of information.”
Retweeting a tweet by PIB Fact Check, even the MHA rubbished the viral claim.
Clearly, an edited graphic is being circulated to falsely claim that the home ministry has directed schools and colleges to remain closed till the end of this year.
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