Fact Check: Government of Odisha did not decide to ban liquor sales

After taking the oath, the new Chief Minister, Mohan Charan Majhi, has undertaken several significant actions that have garnered public approval. Shortly after his swearing-in, CM Majhi announced the reopening of the state secretariat, known as Lok Seba Bhawan for journalists. Four years ago, the Naveen government had restricted journalists from entering Lok Seba Bhawan.

On the same evening, Mohan Majhi held his first cabinet meeting. During the briefing, he informed the reopening of the four doors of Sri Mandir from June 13, 2024 morning which had been closed for maintenance a few years ago. Mohan stated, "This is just the beginning. We are dedicated to serving the public and will continue to work for the people's benefit."

In this backdrop, a graphic image that looks like a TV news screenshot is going viral on social media.

The viral image contains Odia text. “ଓଡ଼ିଶାରେ ଦେଶୀ ବିଦେଶୀ ମଦ ବନ୍ଦ, ଓଡ଼ିଶା ସରକାରର ବଡ଼ ନିଷ୍ପତ୍ତି ସ୍ୱାଧୀନତା ଦିବସ ଠାରୁ ଓଡ଼ିଶାରେ ମଦ ବନ୍ଦ I

When translated to English, the text reads: “All types of liquor will be banned in Odisha. The Odisha government announced that after the upcoming Independence Day, all types of liquor will be banned in Odisha.”

The graphic image also features photographs of the new Chief Minister along with the News18 logo. Social media users are sharing the graphic on different platforms with the caption: "Another masterstroke by the Mohan Government."

Fact Check: The claim is false, the state government didn’t announce any such ban in Odisha, nor News18 published the news.

Upon close observation, the News18 Odia logo in the viral image appears slightly blurry than other images in the picture.

A search on the official site of the Chief Minister of Odisha did not yield any relevant notifications. The Excise Department of Odisha has not released any notifications on their website or social media handles.

During a reverse image search, we found that the Information & Public Relations Department had shared the same graphic, but with a "fake" sticker on it.

In the post the official also mentioned “ସାମାଜିକ ଗଣମାଧ୍ୟମରେ ପ୍ରସାରିତ ହେଉଥିବା ଏହିଭଳି ଫେକ୍ ନ୍ୟୁଜ୍ ପ୍ରତି ସଚେତନ ରୁହନ୍ତୁ। ସବୁବେଳେ ସରକାରୀ ସୂତ୍ରରୁ ପ୍ରଦତ୍ତ ତଥ୍ୟ ଉପରେ ଗୁରୁତ୍ବ ଦିଅନ୍ତୁ। ଏହିଭଳି ମିଥ୍ୟାଗୁଜବ ପ୍ରସାରଣରୁ ନିବୃତ୍ତ ରୁହନ୍ତୁ। ଏହା ବେଆଇନ ଅଟେ” ।

On translation to English, it reads: “Be aware of such fake news circulating on social media. Always focus on information provided by official sources. Please refrain from spreading such false rumors. It is illegal.”

We also found that News18 Odia shared a post on their social media with the caption, “Liquor business shutdown fake news, News18 Odia did not broadcast it.”

Dipak Kumar Samal, a correspondent of News18 Odia, shared the image with the caption, “Be careful of this kind of viral image. Someone is spreading false information by using the News18 Odia logo.”

Odisha TV also published an article on it with a headline “No liquor ban in Odisha, I & PR department slams fake News”.

According to Kalinga TV “Odisha I &PR Department clarifies on circulation of fake news on liquor ban ".

Hence, it is proved that the claim is false, the state government did not declare a liquor ban in Odisha, nor did News18 Odia publish any article on the matter.