AP Government Is NOT Introducing Liquor Purchase ID Cards
The government of Andhra Pradesh has issued a Liquor Purchase ID Card, which the news says is mandatory to buy liquor from the shops
Claim: According to a viral news video circulating on social media – the government of Andhra Pradesh has issued a Liquor Purchase ID Card, which the news says is mandatory to buy liquor from the shops. Further, the news report mentioned that the ID Card must be purchased annually by paying Rs 5,000. According to the same news clip, the card gives permission to buy liquor, which would be sold as per assigned quota and its renewal can be done only when the cardholder submits the proof that he/she is healthy to buy the liquor.
Fact Check: This is complete misinformation but it became viral due to its wide circulation on WhatsApp. The Government of Andhra Pradesh has not announced or released GO about Liquor Purchase Cards.
The above video was found to be circulating on WhatsApp creating confusion among liquor consumers and sellers. According to the video, the Andhra Pradesh government has introduced a Liquor Purchase Card, and that it is mandatory if someone wants to purchase liquor. Also, according to this video, the card has to be purchased for Rs 5000 and one would be able to buy liquor within the limit mentioned on it. In our investigation, we found that none of these claims are true.
To begin with a simple Google Search with relevant keywords revealed that no major news channel carried any such news, which means that the government agencies have not shared any such information with the media. Further, on checking the AP beverages website, we found that no such GO has been issued.
To confirm the same, we called Mr Srinivasula Reddy, DGM, AP Beverages, who confirmed that there was absolutely no such GO issued by the Government of Andhra Pradesh.
On further investigation we found that in 2019, the same news emerged and it was carried without verification by a few websites and YouTube channels.
Link to the Video released in 2019
We also contacted Kishan Peddapally, Founder of Asav Wines, and asked if he received any such notification alerting on the mandatory Liquor Purchase Card in Andhra Pradesh, and he confirmed in the negative.
Based on the above findings, we conclude that the news on mandatory liquor purchase card is misinformation. Not only is this completely untrue but it is also a regular feature to make such unverified videos viral from time to time.