Fact Check: Are these Rs. 500 notes fake? Here's the truth
A photo of a Rs. 500 note is going viral on social media. People are claiming that only those notes which have the security thread closer to the RBI Governor’s signature are authentic. v
By Newsmeter Network Published on 10 April 2022 1:04 PM GMT
Hyderabad: A photo of a Rs. 500 note is going viral on social media. The currency note has a green security thread next to the image of Mahatma Gandhi. People are claiming that only those notes which have the security thread closer to the RBI Governor's signature are authentic.
NewsMeter received the viral claim on WhatsApp to verify it.
Fact Check
The claim is false.
NewsMeter conducted a keyword search using the words 'Rs. 500 notes', 'fake', and 'security thread'. This led us to an old India Today article from 2016 which said that the difference in the two notes was a printing mistake. "No two variants of Rs. 500 notes. RBI says printing flaw due to 'rush'," the headline reads. The article also quotes an RBI spokesperson as saying, "It's not a variant. Such a printing deficiency can happen once in a million. It is a valid legal tender and can be freely used in transactions. But if someone does not want to use it and return it to the RBI, that too can be done and we will give them full value."
Among the several differences pointed out between the two variants was the difference in the placement of the green security thread.
PIB fact check had also tweeted that the claim was false.
The RBI has published a list of security features on the currency note which does not mention anything regarding the placement of the security thread.
Hence, the claim is false. The two versions of the Rs. 500 notes have been acknowledged by the RBI as legitimate and said one is different due to a printing flaw. Both notes are acceptable for transactions.
