Fact Check: Video Claims Electronic Voting Machines Have Been Banned. Here's The Truth

Amid a sea of fake news circulating on social media, a screenshot of a video claiming that electronic voting machines (EVMs) have been banned for 20 years has gone viral, creating confusion among users. The claim was made by a YouTube channel named "India Update" three months ago and carried a Breaking News alert that said, ''Finally, EVMs banned for 20 years.''

However, it should be noted that the claim is fake. The fact-checking wing of the Public Information Bureau (PIB), the centre's nodal agency, debunked the claim on its Twitter account saying, ''A video by a channel named 'India Update' #YouTube claims that electronic voting machines have been banned for 20 years. This claim is fake.''

In its post, PIB also requested people to share suspicious information related to the Government of India with them. 

See the tweet here:

'India Update' नामक #YouTube चैनल की एक वीडियो में दावा किया गया है कि इलेक्ट्रॉनिक वोटिंग मशीन को 20 साल के लिए बैन कर दिया गया है#PIBFactCheck

◾यह दावा #फ़र्ज़ी है

◾भारत सरकार से जुड़ी संदिग्ध जानकारी हमारे साथ यहाँ शेयर करें-

📲+918799711259
📩socialmedia@pib.gov.in pic.twitter.com/IccCiy4CrR

— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) March 27, 2023

Before this, the bureau issued a clarification related to a message claiming that the central government is offering a free mobile recharge of ₹239. As per the bureau, the message was circulated via WhatsApp.The PIB Fact-Check team clarified saying, ''This claim is fake. No such announcement has been made by the Government Of India.''

Notably, The Press Information Bureau launched this fact-checking arm in December 2019, to curb misinformation and fake news prevalent on the internet.

It claimed that its objective was “to identify misinformation related to government's policies and schemes that are circulating on various social media platforms”. The government has time and again warned people about such misinformation and asked them to only believe trusted sources.