Hyderabad Police issued a clarification stating that the viral message is fake.
Time and again social media users have revived old claims and circulated then online. This time again, a message claiming to be purportedly written by the National Health of India and Hyderabad Police who warn people to not consume soft drinks such as Maaza, Coca Cola, Thumbs Up, 7-Up, Pepsi, Sprite etc has a company employee has mixed contaminated blood containing the Ebola virus in these drinks. The message further states that this news was reported by NDTV recently.
We received this message for verification on our WhatsApp Factline number- 9049053770
This message is also widely circulating on Facebook, warning users about this deadly disease spreading through consumption of soft drinks and asking users to forward this message to as many people possible.
Fact Check-
Let us tell you that this message is circulating on social media with the same claim since 2019. A keyword search led us to a clarification by the Hyderabad Police on their Facebook Post in 13 July 2019. The post states, “Fake news spreading on social media about cool drinks and a warning from Hyderabad city police is fake one and Hyderabad city police never released any message regarding this.” They have issues the same clarification on Twitter as well.
We did not find any relevant news report aired by NDTV recently or in the past.
What is the Ebola Virus Disease?
Ebola virus disease (EVD or Ebola) is a rare but severe illness in humans. It is often fatal.
People get infected with Ebola by touching:
- infected animals when preparing, cooking or eating them
- body fluids of an infected person such as saliva, urine, faeces or semen
- Things that have the body fluids of an infected person like clothes or sheets.
Ebola enters the body through cuts in the skin or when touching one’s eyes, nose or mouth. Early symptoms include fever, fatigue and headache. Some types of Ebola can be prevented with vaccines and treated with medicines.
You can read more about this disease on WHO’s website here.
Conclusion-
Fact Crescendo found the claim made along with the video to be False. The viral message circulating on social media is fake. Time and again this message is revived to be true to create unnecessary panic among readers.
Title:Hyderabad Police did not issue warning against soft drinks containing Ebola virus
Written By: Drabanti GhoshResult: False
