New Delhi: On Saturday, Twitter took down popular actor Rajinikanth’s video clip that urged people to support the “janata curfew,” for violating rules. In the video, he claimed that the 14-hour lockdown will stop the COVID-19 outbreak going from Stage 2 to 3.
“India is currently in Stage 2. If people don’t contract the virus which lives outside in public spaces frequented by people for 12-14 hours, we can stop it from going to stage 3,” he said.
He also said that the people of Italy did not follow the government’s instructions to distance themselves socially. As a result, it “resulted in thousands of deaths. So, youths, adults should cooperate,” he said.
However, soon after he posted his video message, he began receiving criticisms from multiple people for spreading false information.
While “Janata Curfew” is one of the ways that will prepare people for social distancing, the one-day lockdown may still be inadequate to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Also read: When the Janata Curfew and Clanging are Over, the Coronavirus Will Still Need Fighting
Thus, many also pointed out that such fake news may mislead people to think that a day-long curfew would be enough to contain the virus before they could go back to their normal routines. Many also said that a message containing false information could pose a great threat to India in its fight against the virus.
While Twitter took down the clip, the same video is still available on Youtube. Twitter users have been tagging Youtube, urging it to take down the video as soon as possible.
However, multiple Rajinikanth fan associations have also been freely circulating the video. Many of them have also posted the video in protest against Twitter’s decision to take it down.
The 69-year-old actor is looking to make his political and electoral debut in the next Tamil Nadu assembly elections.
His counterpart Kamal Hassan has already floated his own party Makkal Needhi Maiam and will contest the elections too. Hassan, too, posted a video encouraging people to observe “Social distancing” to fight the pandemic.
“By following that (social distancing), you are preventing the virus from affecting you and your dear ones,” he said, urging people to stay indoors and spend time with family.
“…try to be responsible. Maintain social distance and stay safe,” he said.