The Coronavirus Collection: Memes and Misinformation II

22 Articles

Snopes investigates the memes, rumors, jokes, and misinformation spreading on social media in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, cont.

Snopes Staff

Published 7 April 2020

No matter what the news event is, we’ll always see memes. COVID-19 is no exception. In this collection, Snopes investigates the memes, rumors, jokes, and misinformation spreading on social media in the wake of the 2020 coronavirus outbreak.

Check out the other categories to read the rest of our COVID-19 fact checks.

What questions do you have? Help Snopes investigate rumors around the novel coronavirus by sending us your tips.

Have Plagues Repeated Exactly Every 100 Years? The predictive value of cherry-picked data is generally low to insignificant.

Fact Check

Mixture

Did Pat Robertson Blame Oral Sex for COVID-19? A routine review of content labeled satire.

Fact Check

Labeled Satire

Was This Pandemic Poem Written by Kathleen O’Mara in 1919? A global pandemic did indeed inspire this poem. But that's as far as it goes.

Fact Check

Misattributed

No, This Is Not a Phone Number for Tracking Your Coronavirus Stimulus Payments The IRS has not announced if Americans will be able to track the status of...

Fact Check

False

Are Thieves Handing Out Masks With Chemicals That Make You Pass Out? Memes exploiting fear over the ongoing coronavirus pandemic have been widespread on social media.

Fact Check

False

Did Uninsured Teen Die of COVID-19 After Being Denied Treatment? A story that went viral was later clarified with regard to key details.

Fact Check

Mixture

Is This a Text from an NHS Worker? A viral hoax warned against going out to buy bread, of all things, during the...

Fact Check

False

Did Dolphins and Swans ‘Return’ to Italian Waterways Amid COVID-19 Lockdown? A few wildlife sightings were excitedly shared across social media as a note of sunny...

Fact Check

Mixture

malabar civet covid coronavirus lockdown

Was a Rare Malabar Civet Spotted During COVID-19 Lockdown? Shelter-in-place orders amid the coronavirus pandemic may have given wildlife ⁠— and our imaginations ⁠—...

Fact Check

Mostly False

Did an Orangutan Start Hand-Washing During COVID-19 Pandemic? Sandra the orangutan loves to wash her hands. We should all be more like Sandra.

Fact Check

Miscaptioned

Did Empire State Building Display ‘Siren’ Lights During COVID-19 Pandemic? A strange sight for strange times.

Fact Check

True

Is This a C. S. Lewis Quote from 1942? A "quote" shared widely during the COVID-19 pandemic may have felt timely, but that is...

Fact Check

Misattributed

COVID-19 Is a Serious Threat … But So Are Memes Claiming It’s NOT The story of a Texas woman who reportedly shared a Facebook post claiming the coronavirus...

News

Kosovar Facebook Pages Use Coronavirus Fears, ‘Blue Lives Matter’ Memes To Trick American Followers Networks from the Balkans nation are deploying divisive content and patriotic nostalgia, echoing past foreign...

News

Is This ‘Shaun of the Dead’ Meme Mocking Real Ohio Protesters? A viral photograph from a protest against stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic was likened...

Fact Check

True

Was March 2020 the First March Since 2002 Without a US School Shooting? The definition of a "school shooting" varies depending on whom you ask.

Fact Check

Mostly False

Did Lack of Social Distancing in 1918 Pandemic Cause More Deaths Than WWI? A viral meme about the "Spanish flu" pandemic gets some general points right, but the...

Fact Check

Mixture

Did Bill Mitchell Tweet ‘Let Me Know’ When COVID-19 Kills 55,000? The right-wing commentator received backlash on social media when the tragic benchmark was met.

Fact Check

Correct Attribution

Does This Restaurant Receipt Show a COVID-19 Surcharge? The COVID-19 pandemic has caused prices for meat and proteins to climb across the board.

Fact Check

True

Did Giuliani Correctly Tweet That Wuhan Lab Got $3.7M from US in 2017? Giuliani tacitly echoed President Donald Trump's assertion that the COVID-19 coronavirus came from a lab...