A message is being shared on social media with a claim that Government of India is giving a 3-month free recharge plan to all Jio, Airtel and VI users to celebrate a successful vaccination drive. The post is being shared with a link along with a disclaimer that the offer is valid till October 15, 2021.
“*देश में रिकॉर्ड वैक्सीनेशन होने की ख़ुशी में भारत सरकार द्वारा सभी भारतीय यूजर्स* को *3 महीने* का रिचार्ज फ्री में दिया जा रहा है। अगर आपके पास *Jio*, *Airtel* या *Vi* का सिम हैं तो आप इस ऑफर का लाभ उठा सकते है । *नोट:-* नीचे दी गई लिंक पर क्लिक करके अपना फ़्री रीचार्ज प्राप्त करें https://free.3monthrecharge.online *कृपया ध्यान दे:* यह ऑफर केवल *15 OCTOBER 2021* तक ही सिमित है!जल्दी करें..l,” reads one such Facebook post.
(English Translation: Following a record vaccination in the country, the Government of India is giving free recharge of 3 months to all Indian users. If you have Jio, Airtel or Vi SIM then you can take advantage of this offer. Note:- Get your free recharge by clicking on the link given below. https://free.3monthrecharge.online. Please Note: This offer is limited to 15 OCTOBER 2021 only! Hurry up..l)
Here’s the link to the above post.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the above post and found it to be false.
Firstly, we searched the web for related news items but couldn’t find any news report corroborating the above claim.
We then clicked on the web link in the viral post, which led us to a warning stating that the link is dangerous. The warning read as, “Deceptive site ahead.”
Also, if one looks at the web link (https://free.3monthrecharge.online) in the viral post, it doesn’t look like a government website. A government website generally has a domain with ‘gov.in’. Take a look at GOI’s Digital India website for reference.
On digging further, we found a tweet by the government’s nodal agency Press Information Bureau (PIB), in which it refuted the claim about the free 3-month free recharge plan by the government.
एक #WhatsApp मैसेज में दावा किया जा रहा है कि देश में रिकॉर्ड वैक्सीनेशन होने की ख़ुशी में भारत सरकार सभी भारतीय यूजर्स को 3 महीने का रिचार्ज फ्री में प्रदान कर रही है।#PIBFactCheck:
▶️यह दावा #फ़र्ज़ी है।
▶️भारत सरकार द्वारा ऐसी कोई घोषणा नहीं की गयी है। pic.twitter.com/b9AiWhimaN— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) October 4, 2021
NewsMobile had debunked similar fake messages earlier also. The articles can be read here and here.
Hence, we can conclude that the viral post is clickbait and fake.
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