Spurious therapies shared via social media cause prices of lemon, other commodities to soar in India

The prices of some commodities such as lemon, mustard oil, and Indian gooseberry at least doubled over a month in Delhi due to misinformation via social media platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp.

A popular social media post suggesting that two drops of lemon into the nose could boost immunity and raise oxygen saturation levels has caused the price of lemons from Rs 35 per to Rs 100 per kilo in Delhi.

The same happened with the prices of the Indian gooseberry, seen as a Vitamin-C powerhouse, which has tripled in just a month.

That same was true for mustard oil, the Indian gooseberry, whose price has tripled in just a month despite no substantial shortage.

Meanwhile, claims that applying mustard oil on the nose can prevent Covid-19 became popular pushed the wholesale price of packaged mustard oil from Rs 12,000 to Rs 16,000 per quintal.

Many prominent personalities were also spreading allegedly spurious therapies, including Vijay Sankeshwar, chairman of the logistics company, VRL Group, who promoted lemon therapy.

Former MP and BJP leader, Sankeshwar, claimed that he had seen administering lime juice through the nostrils increases blood oxygen levels in 200 people, including his relatives and colleagues.

n the other hand, Yoga guru Baba Ramdev, at an event on April 25, said applying mustard oil through the nostril would let the novel coronavirus flow into one’s stomach and be killed by the acids there.