The outbreak of coronavirus COVID-19 and the nationwide lockwide announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to curb the spread of deadly virus have proved to be a fertile breeding ground for different types of fake news and misinformation.

One such fake news which is viral these days claims that the Union government is providing Rs 1000 to people under so-called 'Corona Sahayata Yojana'. But there is no truth in this claim and state-run Prasar Bharati News Services on Saturday (April 25) clarified that the widely circulating message on WhatsApp is fake and fradulent.

"Fact Check Unit of PIB has clarified that Govt of India is not giving Rs 1000 to anybody under so-called Corona Sahayata Yojana,as claimed in widely circulating message on WhatsApp requiring people to click on link&provide their information.Claim&link were fraudulent," tweeted PIB.

दावा: कोरोना सहायता योजना WCHO की तरफ से 1000 ₹ सहायता राशि सभी को दिया जा रहा हैें। फॉर्म भरें और 1000 ₹ प्राप्त करें। #PIBFactCheck: केंद्र सरकार द्वारा ऐसी कोई भी योजना नहीं चलाई जा रही। मैसेज में किया गया दावा व दिया गया लिंक फ़र्ज़ी है।

कृपया जालसाज़ों से सावधान रहे। pic.twitter.com/i8z3K5dEid — PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) April 25, 2020

Few days ago, it was claimed on social media that Department of Telecom is giving free internet to all users till May, 3, 2020, when lockdown is scheduled to end, to enable them to work from home.

But there was no truth in this claim and state-run Prasar Bharati News Services had clarified that the order being cited for the claim is fake and the link is fradulent.

It may be recalled that the PIB has set up a dedicated unit in order to check the spread of fake news on social media during the coronavirus crisis, ‘PIBFactCheck’ team continuously monitors trending messages on social media platforms and conducts review of its contents to bust fake news.