Parts of social media, on Friday, broke into a frenzy with tweets that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been adjudged the best prime minister in the world – yes, yet again.
The tweets seemed to be based on what was circulated a day before. The award was said to have been declared by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.
The news was taken seriously by many.
By Friday, copy-paste versions of the same tweet started floating.
Coincidentally, it was all happening about the same time that India's dreams to become a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group were falling apart – and it was becoming cleat that, at the least, Indian diplomacy had received a severe setback.
International billiards player Pankaj Advani too fell for the bluff and got roasted by trolls for sharing the wrong information. He issued a correction, pointing out how a wrong tweet got him more attention than winning a world title.
Once it was confirmed to be a hoax, Twitterati didn't lose any time in trolling those who had sought to spread the hoax – or had fallen for it.
This is not the first time that such rumours have been sought to be spread.
Not just 2015, these rumours were floated in 2014 as well.
Earlier, Indian National Anthem was said to have bagged the position of the best national anthem in the world.
It seems there is a much-needed hoax-slayer designed specially for Indian social media, modelled after Snopes.com, the definitive Internet reference source for urban legends, folklore, myths, rumours, and misinformation. Perhaps it is yet another reminder to check before passing on a WhatsApp message or tweet, otherwise, as in this case, it just becomes necessary to delete such tweets.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!