‘Fake’: Jio on Viral Message Claiming 25 GB Free Data For 6 Months

Speaking to The Quint, the source said, “Jio has not offered any such free service as mentioned in the message.”

A viral message falsely claimed that Jio and Facebook are giving free 25 GB data to Jio users for six months due to COVID lockdown.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Social media and tech giant Facebook is pouring in Rs 43,574 crore for a 9.99 percent slice in India’s oil-retail-telecoms conglomerate Reliance Industries Limited (RIL)-led Jio Platforms – the largest investment for a minority stake by a technology company anywhere in the world and the largest FDI in the Indian tech sector, according to an RIL statement on Wednesday, 22 April.

CLAIM

Now, a message is being circulated to claim that Jio and Facebook are giving 25 GB daily data for free for six months to all the Jio users due to the coronavirus lockdown.

The message reads, “GOOD NEWS! Jio and Facebook are giving 25GB Data Daily for 6 months to all Jio users due to lockdown of COVID-19. Download this app now: http://tiny.cc/psbmnz”

(Source: SMS/Screengrab)

You can view the archived version here.(Source: Twitter/ Screengrab)

(Click here for live updates on COVID-19. Also visit Quint Fit for comprehensive coverage on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.)

WHAT’S THE TRUTH?

The URL in circulation is a shortened version of https://offermyprime.weebly.com. Weebly is a web hosting device where one can create websites, blogs, or an online store.

On opening the URL, one can see a text that reads: “Jio 25GB Offer, Jio & FB has announced today to give free 25GB data daily with free calls for 6-MONTHS to all Jio Users. Activate this Jio Offer without any cost using all new Prime app (sic)“

It asks users to activate the Jio offer using a new Prime app. However, when we scanned the official website of Jio. we didn’t find any app by the name of “Prime” under the “APPS” tab. The listed apps include: MyJio, JioCloud, JioMoney, JioNews, among others.

LINK DIRECTS TO APK FILE, NOT PLAY STORE LINK

Further, on clicking on the “Download App” button, it shows an apk “Android application package) file which is basically the file format used by the Android operating system for distribution and installation of mobile apps.

However, when we tried to download the file, an alert stated that “this type of file could harm your phone. Only download the file if you trust its source.”

When The Quint tried to download the app, it showed an apk file.(Source: Screenshot of download link)

The safest option for Android users is to download the apps using Google Play Store, as apk files are external sources and not listed on the Play Store. For a company like Reliance Jio, it is unlikely that it will asks its users to download apps via apk files and not through Google Play Store.

All the apps mentioned on the company’s website are listed on Google Play Store and App Store for iOS users.

Further, a source in Reliance Jio called the viral message ‘fake’. Speaking to The Quint, the source said, “Reliance Jio has not offered any such free service as mentioned in the message. People are asked to refrain from falling for such fake news.”

Evidently, a dubious message is being circulated to claim that Reliance and Facebook are offering 25GB Data daily for six months to all Jio users amid the COVID-19 lockdown.

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