A post is doing the rounds on social media which states that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is offering free recharge of Rs 239 to ensure more people vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
You can view an archive of the post here.
(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)
We received multiple queries about the viral post on our WhatsApp tipline. (Archives of similar claims can be found here, here, and here.)
What's the truth?: Team WebQoof did not find any evidence to prove that PM Modi has made any such announcement.
Additionally, the message carries a link to a hoax website which publishes blogs and tries to collect data from visitors, including phone numbers.
No information available in the public domain: At first, we looked for news reports or any information available in the public domain to verify the viral claim.
However, we did not find evidence to prove PM Modi made any such announcement.
It should be noted that if the Prime Minister had announced a free recharge for all, several news reports would have indicated the same.
About the website link accompanying the claim: When we clicked on the link 'http://offerintro.com/BJP2024', we were redirected to a hoax website that published blogs and asked for personal data such as contact information.
Screenshot of the hoax website.
(Source: Accessed by The Quint)
In the 'About Us' section, the website said that it's on a mission to "deliver accurate, timely news that matters." This further proved that the link accompanying the viral claim was actually of an hoax website.
The website mentioned that it aims to deliver accurate news.
(Source: Accessed by The Quint)
New ways of scamming people: There are high chances that information collected by these websites are used to dupe people of their money.
The Quint had recently published a new project named 'Scamguard' to help people understand the different kinds of scams that are prevalent at present times, such as e-commerce, UPI, and online job scams. You can read the guides here.
PIB dismissed the viral claim: The fact-checking unit of PIB had took to its X handle to debunk the viral claim and called it "fake."
The post was uploaded on 26 December and its caption mentioned that the Indian government has no announced any free recharge scheme.
It added that the claim is an attempt to scam people.
We also found older posts on the handle that debunked the same claim.
Conclusion: PM Modi is not offering recharge worth Rs 239 to all Indian voters to ensure more people vote for the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
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