A doctored screenshot of a purported tweet from Hemant Soren announcing a lockdown in Jharkhand in the wake of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 virus has gone viral, forcing the Chief Minister’s Office to issue a clarification and initiate a police investigation into the matter.
In the purported tweet, which has only been shared in the form of a screenshot image on social media platforms, states that a deadly variant of coronavirus has been spreading across the world, and the Jharkhand government has decided to enforce a lockdown in the state from December 6, 2021 to January 1, 2022. All schools, colleges and parks will remain closed during this period, and residents leaving their house for work will have to carry an e-pass, the tweet stated.
The tweet was subsequently termed as fake by the chief minister's office.
On Saturday night, a clarification tweet from the Jharkhand CMO’s official Twitter account read, “The screenshot of honourable CM’s twitter account in circulation is a fake post. It is reiterated that no such decision on Covid-19 lockdown has been taken by the State government. Jharkhand police is instructed to file an FIR, identify the miscreants (responsible for such rumour mongering) and take necessary actions.”
While police are yet to identify or nab the person/persons responsible for this “misadventure”, a source in the police department said that it could either be an act of a student unwilling to appear for exams or a person seeking "a thrill". The real motive behind this rumour mongering would be known only after the ones responsible are held and interrogated, he added.
An official from the CMO said that the chief minister has taken this matter seriously as spreading such misinformation among residents of the state may lead to confusion among people. “We know how fast misinformation spreads on social media. The fake post could be doing the rounds on WhatsApp groups and causing more confusion. It is imperative to check the spread of such misinformation and take stern action against those responsible for creating such content and circulating them,” he said.
