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| - Fact Check: False warnings about robbers handing out anesthesia-laden masks go viral
Some videos accompanied by a message is going viral on WhatsApp, Facebook and YouTube, warning people that criminals are handing out anesthesia-laden face masks to unsuspecting civilians and then rob them as the users are knocked unconscious.
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India Today Fact Check
There is no evidence or incident to prove the viral warning. No competent authority has issued any such warning.
Since the outbreak of coronavirus in India, there has been a scramble for face masks over the last few weeks. So much so, that there has been a shortage of face masks in the country.
Amid this, some videos accompanied by a message is going viral on WhatsApp, Facebook and YouTube, warning people that criminals are handing out anesthesia-laden face masks to unsuspecting civilians and then rob them as the users are knocked unconscious.
India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found the claim to be misleading. There is no such evidence or news report confirming that criminals are handing out chemical-doused face masks to people to commit robbery.
Also, no such advisory or warning has been issued so far by the police, home ministry or any other law enforcing authority in India or abroad about such incidents or possibilities of crime.
VIRAL VIDEOS
A TikTok video on YouTube by "puneet goyal" shows a woman offering a face mask to a man seated in a car on a street. The woman claims the masks are being distributed for free in Delhi to protect people from coronavirus and pollution.
As the man is about to wear the mask, another person appears and warns him that this mask is doused with sedatives and the woman is using it as a means to rob people. The caption of the video says, "Beware Don't take masks from strangers".
The archived version of the YouTube video can be seen here.
Several videos from different countries, enacting similar incidents along with warnings, are circulating on Facebook.
Facebook user "Moh Sil" put up a similar video with the caption, "A new thing circulating now. People are going door to door handing out masks. They say it's a new initiative from local government. They ask you to please put it on to see if it fits. It's doused with chemicals which knocks you out cold. They then rob you!! Please DO NOT accept masks from strangers. Remember friends, it's a critical time and people are desperate, the crime rate will spike. Please be cautious & safe!"
The archived version of the post can be seen here.
Recently, an India Today investigation unearthed a sprawling trade of spurious surgical masks that have sprung up almost overnight in the absence of standard face masks. This market is flourishing in the national Capital and its satellite towns propelled by the Covid-19 pandemic.
It is always advisable that face masks be bought from authentic outlets. But the viral videos warning people that robbers are targeting people using chemical-laced masks have been unfounded so far.
India Today Fact Check is part of IFCN Alliance on Covid-19.
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