Fact Check: Viral Post Claiming Childline No-1098 to Pick Up Leftover Food Is FALSE

A post is widely shared on social media, claiming that children’s helpline number 1098 will collect leftover food from people’s houses and deliver it to poor kids.

The text reads: खुशखबरी: – अगर आपके घर में कोई समारोह / पार्टी है और बहुत सारा खाना बर्बाद हो रहा है, तो कृपया 1098 (भारत में कहीं भी) पर कॉल करें – चाइल्ड हेल्पलाइन के लोग आपसे भोजन एकत्र कर लेंगे … कृपया इस संदेश को हर जगह फैलाएं जिससे कि कई बच्चों को खाने की मदद मिल सकती है। कृपया इस जंजीर को न तोड़ें, मदद करने वाले हाथ प्रार्थना करने वाले होठों से बेहतर हैं* कृपया 4 ग्रुप में ये खबर कॉपी और पेस्ट करके भेजने में कुछ सेकंड लगते हैं… * धन्यवाद। (English translation: Good News: If you have a function/party in your house and a lot of food is being wasted, please call 1098 (Anywhere in India) – Child helpline people will collect the food from you… please send this message… spread everywhere so that many children will get food to eat. Please don’t break this chain…please take a few seconds to copy and paste this news into group 4… Thanks.)

Here’s the link to the above post.

FACT CHECK

NewsMobile fact-checked the post, and found it to be false.

We ran a search and found that as per the official website of the CHILDLINE India Foundation, the Children helpline (CHILDLINE 1098) is a 24×7 free, emergency phone service for children in need of aid and assistance.

We also found a Facebook post by Childline India Foundation, dated September 15, 2014, where they have clarified that the posts claiming that they collect leftover food are false. 

The post reads: CHILDLINE 1098 is India’s only and #most widespread Children’s phone emergency outreach service (1098) for children in need of care and protection. CHILDLINE #India does not collect left over #food after a #party. This #email or message was not #initiated by #us, kindly do not circulate it. We sincerely request you to spread the word and would appreciate your co-operation.

In May 2022, the official Twitter account of the Press Information Bureau also rubbished the viral claim. They tweeted: “A #Fake message circulating on social media claims that you can call on” to prevent food wastage at functions #PIBFactCheck 1098 is a childline emergency phone service that provides assistance to children in distress. It doesn’t pick up/distribute food to needy.”

Thus, based on the above facts, we can conclude that the viral post is false.

If you want to fact-check any story, WhatsApp it now on +91 11 7127 9799

Error: Contact form not found.

Click here for Latest News updates and viral videos on our AI-powered smart news