DigitEye India Fact Checkers
A message is being circulated widely on WhatsApp ahead of Diwali. The message aims to alert people and urge them to stop buying firecrackers that have been manufactured in China. It claims that these firecrackers are more poisonous than carbon monoxide and can cause cancer. Another part of the message claims that Chinese special decorative lamps can cause blindness as they contain mercury.
The message claims to be an advisory that has been shared by the Ministry of Home Affairs. It claims that the advisory has been issued by the Senior Investigation Officer. It adds that since Pakistan cannot attack India directly, it has joined forces with China in order to defeat India.
The message is going viral in multiple Indian languages. Digiteye India team received a Marathi version of this claim to fact-check on WhatsApp.
FACT CHECK
The Digiteye India team went to the official website of the Ministry of Home Affairs to check if they had issued this circular or not. We checked their circulars and notices and found no such advisory. Additionally, we also checked the social media handles of the ministry to see if they had issued something similar earlier. We found no record online.
We used a keyword search to look for the profile of the Senior Investigating Officer, Vishwajit Mukherjee, as was mentioned in the message. The official website mentions that there is no such post. There are two divisions related to Internal Security and none of them have the post of a Senior Investigating Officer in their department. Additionally, we could not find any officer in the MHA who goes by this name.
We ran a keyword search on social media and came across this tweet by the PIB Fact Check. In a tweet dating back to November 2020, they debunked this message and called it fake. They said, “A viral message attributed to an alleged Home Ministry official has claimed that China is sending special types of firecrackers and decorative lights to India to spread asthma and cause eye disorders. This claim is fake. The Home Ministry has not given any such information.”
#WhatsApp पर गृह मंत्रालय के कथित अधिकारी के नाम से वायरल मैसेज में दावा किया गया है कि चीन भारत में अस्थमा फैलाने और नेत्र रोग विकार उत्पन्न करने के लिए विशेष प्रकार के पटाखे और सजावटी लाइट्स भेज रहा है।#PIBFactCheck: यह दावा फर्जी है। गृह मंत्रालय ने ऐसी कोई सूचना नहीं दी है। pic.twitter.com/6s1qLp8b31
— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) November 3, 2020
Bursting firecrackers have a lot of disadvantages. It can have an adverse effect on the environment and even humans. Poorly manufactured firecrackers can burst randomly and cause burns and even breathing issues in humans. The sound and the smoke produced by these crackers pose an ill effect on everyone, but for those who battle with heart problems and breathing issues this situation can also be life-threatening.
The claim is false.
CLAIM: The Ministry of Home Affairs has issued an advisory asking people to not buy firecrackers that have been manufactured in China. The advisory claims that China is sending special firecrackers and lights that can cause asthma and blindness in Indian people.
CONCLUSION: The Ministry of Home Affairs has not issued any such advisory. The message was falsely attributed to a post that does not exist in the ministry.
RATING: ??? – Misrepresentation
