Fact Check: Is The Govt Recording Your Phone Calls & Monitoring Social Media? Here’s The Truth

The message claims that the Government of India is monitoring all forms of online and telephonic communications and asked people to not forward messages related to politics, religion or government.

New Delhi: A message is going viral on various social media platforms claiming that the central government has implemented new communication rules for WhatsApp and phone calls. The message claims that the Government of India is monitoring all forms of online and telephonic communications and asked people to not forward messages related to politics, religion or government.

The message further warns that the government will check all phone calls and even social media forums like Facebook and Twitter would be monitored. If the rules are not followed, the person could even be arrested without any warrant.

However, govt’s fact-checking arm Press Information Bureau (PIB) conducted a fact check on this report and found out that the government has made no such announcement. The claim is fake and the same message has been shared earlier too during various instances. The same misleading message had gone viral in April 2020 also, during the nationwide lock down, triggering panic among citizens.

Debunking the fake news, PIB in a tweet wrote, ”Claim: In a Whatsapp message, it is being claimed that the central government has implemented new communication rules for WhatsApp and phone calls. #PIBFactCheck: This claim is fake The central government has not announced any such implementation of new communication rules in relation to WhatsApp and phone calls.”

Check the tweet here:

दावा: एक #Whatsapp मैसेज में दावा किया जा रहा है कि केंद्र सरकार ने व्हाट्सएप्प और फोन कॉल के लिए नए संचार नियम लागू किए हैं। #PIBFactCheck: यह दावा #फ़र्ज़ी है। केंद्र सरकार ने व्हाट्सएप्प व फोन कॉल के संबंध में नए संचार नियम लागू करने की ऐसी कोई घोषणा नहीं की है। pic.twitter.com/5D7v8xthc0

— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) January 29, 2021

The Press Information Bureau launched this fact-checking arm in December 2019, to curb misinformation and fake news prevalent on the internet. It claimed that its objective was “to identify misinformation related to government’s policies and schemes that are circulating on various social media platforms”.