Lockdown Messages Flood Social Media, Turn Out to Be April Fool’s Day Prank
Users who downloaded and opened the PDF were treated to an April Fool greeting, making it evident that it is an April Fool prank making use of current geo-political tensions.
PDF documents titled to the likes of ‘WAR LOCKDOWN NOTICE’ and ‘Delhi Govt Press Release on Partial Lockdown’ were widely circulated on Whatsapp and Telegram groups on April 1 Wednesday, sparking worries about a possible lockdown in India. However, users who downloaded and opened the PDF were treated to an April Fool greeting, making it evident that it is an April Fool prank making use of current geo-political tensions.
Subsequently, lockdown related keywords topped the Google Trends chart on Wednesday.
Rumours regarding a possible lockdown have been doing rounds on social media in recent weeks, evoking a clarification from the Central government that there is no such proposal under consideration by the government.
“Let me state this clearly there is no such proposal under consideration by the government. In such times, it is important that we remain calm, responsible, and united. Attempts to spread rumours and create panic in such a situation are irresponsible and harmful,” Union minister Hardeep Puri said, reacting to the rumours of a lockdown.
Similarly, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also said there is no proposal to impose a lockdown in the country in the wake of the West Asia war.