Govt Giving Rs 1.2 L to Workers Employed From 1990-2020? Well, No

The URL being shared with the claim is now defunct and the fake message has been called out by PIB.

As a response to the coronavirus induced financial crisis, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an economic relief package worth Rs 20 Lakh Crore on 12 May. A breakup of the entire package was then announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in a series of press briefings.

Now a claim that the Ministry of Labour and Employment will be providing benefits worth Rs 1.2 Lakh to workers who worked between the 1990 and 2020 is being shared on social media. However, the URL being shared with the claim is now defunct and the fake message has been called out by the Press Information Bureau (PIB), a nodal agency of the Government of India.

THE CLAIM

The message which states that the government will be providing benefits worth Rs 1.2 Lakh to workers employed between 1990 and 2020 is being shared with a claim which reads, “The workers who worked between the 1990 and 2020, have the right to receive the *benefit of ₹120000 from Ministry of Labour and Employment*.
Check if your name is in the list of the people who have the rights to withdraw this benefits. (sic)”

To make the claim look credible a link is also being shared along with it.

WHAT WE FOUND

We tried opening the link (https://lI.IlllI.shop) being circulated with the claim. However, it reflected an error.

A Tweetdeck search of the claim directed us to multiple Tweets by users, with screenshots of the website.

One of the steps listed by the website to avail the benefits asked the users to share the link with 20 friends/groups on WhatsApp, hinting that the website can be a hoax.

Next, we found a Tweet by PIB dated 14 May, where the agency debunked the viral claim saying, “There is no such announcement by Govt. of India. Beware of such fraudulent websites.”

Claim- A whatsapp message circulating, claims that workers who worked during 1990-2020 are entitled to receive Rs 120000 from Labour Ministry.#PIBFactCheck: Its #FakeNews! There is no such announcement by Govt. of India. Beware of such fraudulent websites. pic.twitter.com/qyS0mDmQW4

— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) May 14, 2020

Clearly, a misleading claim to promote a hoax website was being shared to falsely state that the government is providing benefits worth Rs 1.2 Lakh to workers employed from 1990 to 2020.

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