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Fact Check: Video Showing Man In Distress Goes Viral With False Coronavirus Claims
India, 17 April 2020 10:05 AM GMT | Updated 18 April 2020 5:47 AM GMT
Editor : Bharat Nayak |
As the founding editor, Bharat had been heading the newsroom during the formation years of the organization and worked towards editorial policies, conceptualizing and designing campaign strategies and collaborations. He believes that through the use of digital media, one could engage the millennial's in rational conversations about pertinent social issues, provoking them to think and bring a behavioral change accordingly.
The Logical Indian Fact Check Team investigates a video claiming to show an infected COVID-19 person in distress outside a hospital.
Recently a video claiming to show an infected COVID-19 person in distress outside a hospital has been doing the rounds on social media.
The caption accompanying the video read, "Corona Patient Outside Hospital in India."
Several of our readers have also sent us the video on WhatsApp asking us to verify the information.
The 1:26 minute video shows a supposed COVID-19 patient lying outside an undisclosed hospital. The appears to be writhing on the ground in distress.
A keyword search on Facebook for "Corona Patient Outside Hospital in India" led us to more such posts on several pages.
Captions cautioning people saying, "Corona Patient In Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Be Alert, stay home and stay safe," was found on a Facebook page called, 'Bodoland Culture North East India'. The post has over 11,000 views and over 150 shares.
The video was also shared by 'Malwa News' which claims to Punjabi news portal accompanying the text "Corona Patient increased in India. Hospital potion is not good".
The same video was also shared extensively on Twitter.
Claim:
Video shows a man in distress due to COVID-19.
Fact-check:
The claim is false.
Unrelated Video
The video is not of a COVID-19 patient.
Breaking the video into multiple frames using the digital verification tool InVid, we could identify the hospital hoarding "मातृ शिशु चिकित्सालय कानपुर" (Pediatric treatment centre, Kanpur). We can also see "Corona Virus Isolation Ward" written on it in Hindi, which may have led to people assuming the person seen in the video is a COVID-19 infected patient.
Through a reverse image search on Google, we were able to connect the building to Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial (GSVM) Medical College in Kanpur.
On searching YouTube with keywords such as, "GSVM, Corona Medical School Kanpur," a 'NewsUP-78' video report published on March 31, 2020, was discovered. The report contained a rebuttal by Dr Aarti Dave Lalchandani, Principal and Dean of GSVM Medical College.
In the video, the dean claims, "the person shown in the video is an epileptic patient who was having an attack. He was accidentally taken to the Corona Ward. During a seizure, you mustn't try to hold them down or stop their movements.- Once it reduced, he was treated in the emergency ward and was later sent home. The video was falsely linked to COVID-19 pandemic. (translated from Hindi)"
The absence of standard PPE kits used to treat COVID-19 patients and the lack of social distancing around the patient further contradict the claims made about the video.
Therefore, given the evidence, it can be ascertained the video falsely claims to show COVID-19 infected person in distress.
Misinformation and rumours surrounding infectious diseases can lead to unjustified panic and chaos, which would deter our fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
If you have any news that you believe needs to be fact-checked, please email us at factcheck@thelogicalindian.com or WhatsApp at 6364000343
Also Read: Fact Check: No, Ratan Tata Did Not Say Indian Economy Will Bounce Back Post COVID-19 Pandemic
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