A screenshot of a purported tweet made by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is being shared on social media claiming that in the wake of increasing COVID-19 cases, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma had announced a complete shutdown of schools and colleges from 20 November 2021. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma announced complete shutdown of schools and colleges in Assam from 20 November 2021.
Fact: The image shared in the post is a morphed one. The Assam Government did not issue any such orders announcing a complete closure of schools and colleges from 20 November 2021. Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma through a tweet clarified that a fake tweet bearing his name was spreading false information regarding the closure of schools and colleges in Assam. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When we searched to check whether Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma made any such tweet announcing a complete shutdown of schools and colleges from 20 November 2021, we could not find any on Himanta Biswa Sarma’s official Twitter handle. Also, we could not find any such orders on the Assam Government website. If Himanta Biswa Sarma’s government issued any such orders, several news websites would have published articles reporting this information. But we could not find even a single news report about this.
The username on the tweet screenshot shows ‘@himanta Biswa sarma’. But the original username on Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma’s official Twitter handle is ‘@himantabiswa’. We could not find any Twitter handle with the registered username ‘@himanta Biswa sarma’. So, it is confirmed that the tweet shared in the post is a fake one.
On 03 November 2021, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma clarified that a tweet bearing his name is spreading misinformation about the closure of schools and colleges in Assam. Himanta Biswa Sarma emphasized that the screenshot is fake. Reporting Himanta Biswa Sarma’s clarification, several news websites published articles. They can be seen here and here.
To sum it up, a morphed tweet is being shared as Himanta Biswa Sarma announcing complete closure of schools and colleges in Assam from 20 November 2021.
