Fake website claims PM has announced Unemployment Allowance Scheme

by Kinjal

A viral claim circulating on social media and messaging application WhatsApp suggests that unemployed youth will be given a monthly sum of Rs 3,500 under the Pradhan Mantri Berozgari Bhatta Yojna (Unemployment Allowance Scheme) 2021. The message includes a pre-registration link for those wishing to sign up.

“Pre-registration is underway for the Pradhan Mantri Unemployment Allowance Scheme 2021. Rs 3500 will be given every month to all unemployed youth under this scheme. Click the link below to pre-register and fill the form. Application fee: Rs. 0 (FREE). Eligibility: 10th pass. Age: 18 – 40. Last date of registration: May 27, 2021,” reads the complete message.

Twitter user BK Agrawal posted the claim. (Archive link)

It is being shared widely on Twitter and Facebook.

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Alt News received several requests on its WhatsApp helpline number (+91 76000 11160) to investigate the message.

Fake website

The link provided in the message leads to a blog post and not a government website ending with ‘gov.in or nic.in’.

There is no government website for the purported initiative. Other central government initiatives – Pradhan Mantra Awas Yojna, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna and Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna – have dedicated websites hosted on ‘gov.in’.

The official Twitter handle of the Prime Minister’s Office has also not tweeted about any such scheme. Neither has it been mentioned on the Prime Minister’s website.

Apart from this, links to other pages on the blogpost like ‘Terms and Conditions, ‘About Us’, ‘Contact Us’, ‘Privacy Policy’ and ‘Disclaimer’ do not function.

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The form asks for personal details and prompts people to forward the message to 10 WhatsApp groups which also point to the fact that it is fake.

PIB Fact Check tweeted that the blogpost is fake and the government has not launched any such initiative.

Home Ministry’s Cyber Crime Coordination Centre warned the public to be aware of such fake sites.

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About the Author

Kinjal Parmar holds a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology. However, her keen interest in journalism, drove her to pursue journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication. At Alt News since 2019, she focuses on authentication of information which includes visual verification, media misreports, examining mis/disinformation across social media. She is the lead video producer at Alt News and manages social media accounts for the organization.