People are worried about a notification that Punjab Government banned poultry due to coronavirus
Fake news always appears to spike during times of distress. Trolls use people’s vulnerabilities to spread misinformation. Something similar just happened with a circular claiming to be from Punjab Government.
An image which had started going viral from WhatsApp claiming that Punjab Government banned all poultry due to coronavirus being found in them
The image contained what appeared to be an internal notice to the Punjab Government of an even more deadlier strain of Covid-19 being found in poultry. It further stated actions that needed to be taken, which were ban of sale of poultry.
As always WhatsApp was deemed to be behind yet another fake notice being circulated. Seriously, how do people come up with this stuff?
Immediate ban on all poultry due to presence of corona virus(COVID-19)
Governmnet of punjab. pic.twitter.com/E7NuTjk3GT— M Uzair Arif🇵🇰 (@EngrUzair2597) June 4, 2020
The notice immediately caused panic among people because Punjab Government appeared to be behind the alleged poultry ban due to coronavirus
The situation with Covid-19 in Pakistan is already pretty bad and to find out it might be made worse through transmission from poultry really worried some people. It also doesn’t help when the Government itself hasn’t been the most trustworthy source of authentic information during an actual pandemic.
Is this valid?
We cook chicken which research suggests eliminates the chances of the virus surviving https://t.co/pForXM0J79
— soha (@SohaTazz) June 4, 2020
People immediately started freaking out because honestly Corona is one big nightmare for this country which only seems to be getting progressively worse
Chicken mei bhe Coronavirus aa gya haiii??
— Sakhwa.🇵🇰 (@sakhwa) June 4, 2020
There is a circular going around on WhatsApp from Punjab Health Ministry that DO NOT EAT CHICKEN cause it contains #COVIDー19 and can pass it on to humans.
It is causing a lot of anxiety in people.
Can @Dr_YasminRashid or @hamzashafqaat or anyone else conform or deny it.
— Mir Mohammad Alikhan (@MirMAKOfficial) June 4, 2020
Soon it was addressed by DC Islamabad who told everyone that the notification claiming to be from Punjab Government banning poultry due to coronavirus was actually fake
This notification is fake pic.twitter.com/csvbHHqnze
— Deputy Commissioner Islamabad (@dcislamabad) June 4, 2020
The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Healthcare also issued a statement saying that they had not issued any such directives
Honestly, what a relief. If the year just couldn’t get any worse, people decided to spread fake news to make it so? Can we not? Please!
— iqbal lalwani (@lalwanii) June 4, 2020
In a country like Pakistan where people take news at face value and rarely ever try to verify it, spreading fake notices which impersonate Government directives is incredibly dangerous. People might have actually believed it and started to practice them. As it is, I am sure that some people have already heeded to this advice and have started to avoid poultry in fear of catching a mutated and more dangerous version of Covid-19.
Stay safe and stay away from each other.
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Cover Image Source: @dcislamabad via Twitter / tribune.com.pk