India, Sept. 12 -- A reel posted on social media a week ago went viral. It was speedily picked up by tricity news outlets, including the mushrooming web-based channels so visible on platforms such as Facebook. The reasons for its ''virality'' were not difficult to fathom. It showed a serpent hiding among bundles of linen / clothes at PGIMER, Chandigarh, allegedly on September 4, 2026.

The reel was posted with false inscriptions (replicated by news outlets). That, it was an ''ajgar'' (python) and that it was "18 feet long". In fact, the serpent filmed was a highly venomous species, the Russell's viper, which seldom exceeds 4.5 to 5 feet in length. However, to sensationalise the reel and quench the thirst for 'likes, followers, shares and ...