Clickbait Facebook post on Covid-19 urging for shares gone viral
A Facebook post with a collage of three images showing an ailing woman and a kid and a crying man has gone viral with an emotional appeal related to coronavirus.
Claim: A man is appealing for prayers because his daughter and wife are suffering from coronavirus.
The post reads: ” My wife and daughter are infected with coronavirus please pray for them I don’t want to loose them…Oh, heavenly Father deliver anyone who shares this prayer from any form of CORONAVIRUS and DEATH.. I’m not asking for money just a single share and prayers. Please share to atleast 5 groups on Facebook so they can get more prayers don’t be heartless to help a dying child and mother.”
The post also has a link to a blogpost that appealing to users to click for prayer.
A Facebook user named Ajay Nirdosh shared the post on 17th April and has over 2k shares.
Many other users shared the post with the same claim.
TRUTH
Using reverse image search separately on each of the three images that led us to different images on social media. The viral post of Facebook is a ploy to get more shares and likes by posting fictitious emotional stories related to Covid-19.
This image of an ailing woman with an oxygen pipe and mask on her face has been shared on social media claiming that the woman is supposedly infected with the Coronavirus. This post is shared by many people on social media with various claims.
Please pray for my little Daughter, she tested positive for Corona Virus.😢😢
She's my only daughter and I can't loose her.
God please deliver everyone who share this post and say a prayer for my daughter from any form of DEATH and VIRUS.#COVID__19 pic.twitter.com/H1ICndnq5j— Fatima Noor (@DrFatimaNoor1) April 13, 2020
The image of a kid in the hospital bed has been also shared by many users on social media with various claims. Using a reverse image search that led us to the post on Facebook where a father appealing for prayers for her Covid-19 infected daughter.
This viral image of a crying man is viral since 2017. This photo has been also used by many other users on social media with various claims.
This confirms that the three characters are falsely linked to each other and created a fictitious emotional story of Covid-19.
