Corpses Strewn On China's Streets After Outbreak Of Coronavirus? A Factcheck
BOOM found the image was originally taken on March 24, 2014 to remember lives lost in a concentration camp in Frankfurt, Germany.
A photograph of people lying on a street to pay tribute to the lives lost in the Nazi concentration camps has resurfaced with claims that they are dead bodies of those infected with the Coronavirus in China.
The image shows an aerial view of multiple people lying down on an open area, as pedestrians walk past. The image has resurfaced at a time when China is battling the outbreak of the deadly Coronavirus; social media claims misleadingly link the photo to Islamophobia of China and how the country has to make amends with the loss of lives.
The photo has been captioned as, "China called "Islam" a "VIRUS" and worked very hard to extinguish it in its Country. They banned the Qur'an. They banned Praying. They banned the Hijab. They banned Fasting. And they locked down Million Innocent Muslims in cell. 👉But today, More than 35 million people in China are now on a Travel Lockdown. More than 2,700 have been sickened and 100+ have died. Nothing happens without the permission of Allah and Allah is aware of all things. China planned, Allah planned. Indeed, Allah is the Best Planner. #Repost!"
The novel Coronavirus has killed 213 people so far and more than 9,770 cases of infection have been reported globally. The World Health Organisation has declared the virus as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
One such post is archived here.
The image is viral on Facebook and Twitter with the same narrative.
Nothing happens without the permission of Allah and Allah is aware of all things. China planned, Allah planned. Indeed, Allah is the Best Planner. #Repost! pic.twitter.com/WcAmy9JSCv
— shaikh aslam (@shaikhaslam313) January 30, 2020
BOOM also received the photo on its helpline number for verification.
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Fact Check
BOOM ran a reverse image search and found that the photo is not related to the Coronavirus outbreak in China.
We found the same image that was published on March, 2014 by Hindustantimes, in a picture gallery of 'Top shots of the day', and had been captioned as, "People lay down in a pedestrian zone as part of an art project in remembrance of the 528 victims of the "Katzback" Nazi concentration camp, in Frankfurt. Reuters."
A further keyword search led us to the original image that was take by Frankfurt based photographer Kai Pfaffenback for the Reuters news agency.
The photo was taken on March 24, 2014 in Frankfurt, Germany. People lay down on a pedestrian area to remember victims who lost their lives in a Nazi concentration camp. The tribute was part of an art project. The original image is available in the stock photos of Reuters.
The photo was captioned as, "People lay down in a pedestrian zone as part of an art project in remembrance of the 528 victims of the Katzbach Nazi concentration camp, in Frankfurt, March 24, 2014. The inmates of the Katzbach concentration camp, a part of the former Adler industrial factory, were forced into a death march to the concentration camps of Buchenwald and Dachau on March 24, 1945. Some 528 victims of Katzbach are buried at Frankfurt's central cemetery. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach (GERMANY - Tags: SOCIETY ANNIVERSARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY ENTERTAINMENT)"
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