The Federal Ministry of Information and Culture has debunked a false Whatsapp message currently circulating in Nigeria. In the misleading voice note, a man with a Nigerian accent told people to remain inside their house by 11:00 pm, claiming the nation was spraying antivirus.
“The general public is hereby urged to disregard a Voice-Note circulating on WhatsApp that a Helicopter will spray ‘Antivirus’ throughout the Nation by 11:00 pm,” the Federal Ministry of Information wrote.
“This news is fake and should be disregarded in its entirety,” the statement added.
#COVID19NIGERIA #FakeNews Alert: The general Public is herby urged to disregard a Voice-Note circulating on WhatsApp that a Helicopter will spray ‘Antivirus’ throughout the Nation by 11:00pm.
This news is fake and should be disregarded in its entirety. pic.twitter.com/o9juA3Hqer— Fed Min of Info & Cu (@FMICNigeria) March 20, 2020
In the face of this unexpected outbreak, several people prey on the emotions of people by circulating false news on social media.
Sadly, several people key to the misinformation and reshare with their friends, thereby stirring up panic.
