In December 2019, the Press Information Bureau, the publicity arm of the Central government, launched its own fact-checking arm. Since its launch, PIB Fact Check, particularly its Twitter handle, has constantly been in the news, as it called out misinformation and refuted unverified reports. However, some critics have panned PIB Fact Check for being aggressive in calling out reports deemed critical to the Central government.
But on Thursday, PIB Fact Check got fact-checked... by a government handle.
On December 16, PIB Fact Check had labelled as "fake" an advertisement seeking applications for vacancies in the Intelligence Bureau, the country's internal security agency.
The advertisement was to appear in Employment News, a publication of the ministry of information and broadcasting, which was to be online on December 19. The job advertisement was for 2,000 vacancies of assistant central intelligence officers in the Intelligence Bureau. The advertisement claimed people would be recruited via a three-tier selection procedure.
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PIB Fact Check tweeted on December 16 that recruitment in the Intelligence Bureau is done via the UPSC, SSC and All-India recruitment examinations for certain posts.
On Thursday, Employment News tweeted a notice that said, "Attention is drawn to the action taken by the PIB Fact Check Unit on December 16 whereby the advertisement of Intelligence Bureau (MHA, Government of India) appearing on page 6 and 7 of Employment News scheduled to be released on December 19 has been stamped as fake. The Intelligence Bureau has confirmed in writing that the advertisement is genuine."
PIB Fact Check subsequently deleted the tweet.
