No, PM Modi has not announced nationwide lockdown from May 3 to May 20

Several social media users have shared an alleged graphic plate of TV9 Bharatvarsh that claims PM Modi has announced a nationwide lockdown from May 3 to May 20.

This graphic is quite viral on Facebook.

A few users also sent us requests on our Whatsapp number and official mobile application to verify the claim.

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Morphed image

There are no media reports confirming that the Prime Minister has announced a lockdown from May 3 to May 20 across the nation. On the contrary, PM Modi had said on April 20 that lockdown is the last resort. “I request my young friends to set up small committees in their society and apartment to help implement COVID-19 protocols. If we follow the guidelines, the government will neither need to make any containment zones nor impose any curfew and lockdown,” he said, addressing the country.

Furthermore, the viral graphic plate carries several inconsistencies such as the font, a blurry TV9 logo and a watermark on PM Modi’s picture.

A reverse-image search of PM Modi’s photo led us to an article in The New Indian Express published on December 28, 2020, about the inauguration of the first driverless metro train in Delhi.

TV9 had broadcast the inauguration and aired PM Modi’s speech on the occasion. The viral graphic has used the same picture of the Prime Minister.

A similar graphic claiming nationwide lockdown imposed was viral a few days ago and debunked by PIB.

एक #Morphed तस्वीर में दावा किया जा रहा है कि भारत सरकार द्वारा 15 से 30 अप्रैल तक देश भर में लॉकडाउन लगाया जाएगा। #PIBFactCheck: यह दावा #फर्जी है। भारत सरकार द्वारा #लॉकडाउन के संबंध में ऐसी कोई घोषणा नहीं की गई है। कृपया ऐसी भ्रामक तस्वीरों या संदेशों को साझा न करें। pic.twitter.com/gnRpyDcMRf

— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) April 15, 2021