Did Italian President 'Surrender' To Coronavirus Outbreak? Fake Quote Viral
The fake quote is part of many misleading social posts about Italy's handling of the Coronavirus outbreak.
Claim
A fake quote attributed to Italian President Sergio Mattarella has surfaced on Whatsapp. The screenshot features an image of Mattarella and a fabricated quote that states that the Italian government has given up, overwhelmed by the rising number of Coronavirus cases in the country. The quote reads, "The Italian Prime Minister says, 'Our control is gone. Infectious disease is killing us. All the possible relief on earth is over. Here's our look at the sky."
Fact
BOOM found that the quote was falsely attributed to Mattarella. The same quote was earlier viral along with an image of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro to claim that the Italian president and prime minister had given up on its medical facilities to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak. BOOM scanned the social media pages of Mattarella and Giuseppe Conte, the Italian prime minister and found no statement that said that the Italian government has lost all hope. We also checked with Pagella Politica, a fact-checker based in Italy, and confirmed that no such statement was made.
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