A message is being circulated on social media which claims that birds are dying in the country due to Reliance Jio’s 5G network testing and people are being fooled that bird flu is spreading.
The message is being shared as several states are scrambling to contain bird flu including Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, etc.
A Facebook user shared the message with a Hindi caption, “JIO की 5 G टेस्टिंग के कारण देश में पक्षी मर रहे हैं और लोगों को बेवकूफ बनाया जा रहा है कि बर्ड फ्लू फैल रहा है”
(Translation: Birds are dying due to Jio’s 5G testing and people are being fooled that its bird flu)
You can check other Facebook posts here, here, and here.
We found similar messages on Twitter as well. Check the Twitter posts here, here and here.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the claim and found it to be false.
We ran a search and found that the Indian government has not permitted any telecom firm to test 5G technology in the country yet. According to a Financial Express report, dated December 16, 2020, Union IT and Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in December 2020 said that the much-awaited trials for 5G technology will commence soon.
We found another report by Business Today, dated December 23, 2020, which states that the Indian government is still mulling over 5G trials, while countries like China, South Korea, and the US have raced ahead in 5G deployments.
Moreover, according to a CNBC TV 18 report, Reliance Industries’ Chairman Mukesh Ambani at RIL’s 43rd annual general meeting in July last year, had said, “Jio is ready with a world-class 5G solution. Field deployment can happen next year. This 5G product will be available for trials as soon as spectrum is available.”
“Jio will pioneer the 5G revolution in India in the second half of 2021.”
– Mukesh D. AmbaniOne more reason to look forward to the new year 😊. #JioAtIMC #Jio5GInternet #IMC2020Virtual #DigitalIndia #JioDigitalLife #5G @exploreIMC
— Reliance Jio (@reliancejio) December 10, 2020
Also, we couldn’t find any report that confirms that 5G network causes the death of birds. 5G is being introduced all over the world and incidents of bird deaths haven’t been reported from anywhere else.
However, bird flu outbreak has been confirmed in different states across the country and government is taking adequate measures to check the spread of the flu.
Hence, from the above information, it’s clear that the message with the claim is false.
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