New Delhi: COVID-19 lockdowns have proved that the threat of FAKE news is quite real and more dangerous than the society ever perceived it to be. Take this piece of fake news for example "The Ministry of Tourism has ordered the closure of all the hotels and restaurants till October 15, 2020, due to Coronavirus outbreak". This news is doing rounds on Whatsapp groups and social media for past a couple of days and naturally, it has resulted in creating a sense of insecurity and panic among those from hoteliers and restaurant industry and tourism sector. Imagine this piece of fake news got so widely spread that the government had to intervene and clarify.

The Ministry of Tourism has clarified on Wednesday that "no such letter has been issued by the Ministry of Tourism" and people must not believe such kind of fake news.

"Be cautious of #Fake order claiming that hotels/restaurants will remain closed till 15th October 2020 due to #Coronavirusoutbreak.#PIBFactCheck: The order is Fake and has NOT been issued by the Ministry of Tourism.
Do not believe in rumours!" The press information bureau's fact check division wrote on Twitter.

Ministry of Tourism had already issued denials on Social media and lodged a complaint with cybercrime unit of Mumbai police. The PIB Fact Check Unit also issued denials a few days back but the fake message is circulating again. PIBFactCheck has reissued the clarification yesterday also. It is requested to all to ignore such messages and only believe in official communication. "On popular demand, the #FakeNews claiming that hotels and restaurants will remain closed till 15th October 2020 due to #Coronavirusoutbreak, is being reposted.

It's again clarified that no such order has been issued by Tourism Ministry" PIB factcheck clarified.