Fact check: Will the central government reduce retirement age to 50 due to COVID-19?

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has evidently brought upon a number of fake stories going around the internet. One common theme witnessed in these posts across the internet has been fabricating fake news surrounding the decisions taken by the state or central government. These fake stories can also go on and affect the lives of innocent people if they do not fact check and find the source of the news. One such piece of information has now come to light. 

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Claim 

Recently, some questionable news portals across the internet were claiming that the central government has brought down the retirement age of their employees to 50 years. It was claimed that the decision has been taken in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic as the virus has made senior citizens much more vulnerable. The fake news actually went on and went viral on the internet, while also creating an atmosphere of paranoia amongst people. 

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Rating - False

The official Twitter handle for Press Information Bureau in India has declared that the claims about the retirement age brought done to 50 years of age are completely false. On the other hand, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs has also come forwards and clarified that no such rule has been passed by the central government. Check out the official clarifications below - 

Origin 

The fake story was first shared on various questionable and independent news portals. Though their articles themselves stated that there has been no official confirmation yet, the news was still published ahead. The story was then picked up by various social media users who started sharing it on social media. 

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Google Trends Analytics 

As the fake news about the retirement age brought down to 50 started doing rounds on the internet; A number of netizens took to Google to search credibility behind the story. This resulted in a surge of Google searches about the same. Check it out below - 

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