The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) has issued a letter on Friday to all social media companies asking them to take down any content that refers to an 'Indian variant' of the COVID-19.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) has issued a letter on Friday to all social media companies asking them to take down any content that refers to an 'Indian variant' of the COVID-19.
The World Health Organisation said on May 11 that the COVID-19 variant B.1.617, first identified in India last year, was being classified as a variant of global concern.
The government a day later issued a statement saying media reports using the term 'Indian Variant' were without any basis, saying the World Health Organisation had classified it as just B.1.617.
The IT ministry has also said that they have already been clarifying that there was no such variant of the virus and asked the companies to remove all the content that names, refer to, or implies 'Indian variant' of COVID-19 from their platforms immediately.
Previously, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology had issued advisories regarding curbing false news/misinformation concerning COVID-19 on social media platforms.
A government source told Reuters the notice was issued to send a message 'loud and clear' that such mentions of 'Indian variant' spread miscommunication and hurt the country's image.
Doctors and health experts across the world have named COVID-19 variants based on the origin of the strain. This includes South Africa and Brazil variants.
Indian government's strong response comes after the WHO clarified that it does not identify the strains and variants of COVID-19 with the names of the countries they originate from rather it refers to them with their scientific name.
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