It seems that Union Science and Technology Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan may have been the latest victim of fake information posted by a hoax account on social media.

During his address on Friday at the 105th edition of the Indian Science Congress, the minister said that late physicist Stephen Hawking had once said the Vedas had a theory of relativity that was superior to Albert Einsteins E=mc2.

Photo: Twitter/@drharshvardhan

When he was asked by media persons to state the source of his statement, he shot back by saying that it was time for the media to do their work and find the source of the information.

According to Twitter handle @SMHoaxSlayer, the only source for this information was propagated by a fake Facebook page that went by the name of Stephen Hawking and had only 1,000 followers. The Twitter user also said that the information had been posted on the page way back in 2011.

Photo: Twitter/@SMHoaxSlayer

E=mc2 is an equation that shows the equivalence of mass and energy. Albert Einstein propounded it back in 1905 as part of his Theory of Relativity.

Dr Harsh Vardhan, who is a medical doctor, however didnt mention exactly which vedic theory he was talking about.