As the country is struggling to fight the coronavirus pandemic, several miscreants have used this as an opportunity to spread rumours, fake news, untrue 'facts' and false quotes on social media platforms.
Despite the government's effort to curb the spread of fake news, it has proven to be increasingly difficult to get hold of those behind it.
Top industrialist and former chairman of Tata Sons Ratan Tata was forced to intervene after a quote attributed to him went viral. Tata took to Twitter to clarify that the quote about the impact of the novel coronavirus on the Indian economy was fake.
The 82-year-old philanthropist shared an image of the quote on Twitter and wrote: "This post has neither been said, nor written by me. I urge you to verify media circulated on WhatsApp and social platforms. If I have something to say, I will say it on my official channels. Hope you are safe and do take care."
The quote, which was attributed to Tata, criticised ‘experts’ who predicted the ‘downfall of the Indian economy’. The quote read: “I do not know much about these experts. But I know for sure that they do not know anything about the value of human motivation and determined efforts.”
Meanwhile, Tata has donated Rs 500 crore for the fight against COVID-19, while Tata Sons donated an additional Rs 1,000 crore separately.
On March 28, Tata tweeted that he has committed Rs 500 crore for the development of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for frontline medical staff, ventilators, testing kits and modular treatment facilities.