Fact check: COVID-19 patient zero had sex with bats was fake news

By Team Newsable | First Published Mar 28, 2020, 4:45 PM IST

A fake news website, World News Daily Report reported that coronavirus patient zero had sex with bats

News of patient zero of coronavirus having sex with bats has plagued social media. This story was reported by a fake news website, World News Daily Report.

The report says, a 24-year-old man from the province of Hubei, China became the first person to have contracted the novel coronavirus that emerged on November 17, according to Chinese government data.

Tap to resize

Latest Videos

Tap to resize

The report also says the patient is said to have contracted the disease after performing sexual acts with several animals, including bats.

To make the report seem more authentic, it also included alleged comments made by the patient's father, who apparently told media that he is ashamed of his son's act and added that his son was forced to turn to animals because he could not find a wife and preferred sex with animals over becoming a homosexual.

It also stated that Chinese officials warned citizens saying, "We ask the population to abstain temporarily from oral, genital or anal sexual contact with animals, especially bats," adding that it would impose fines.

Check the news:
The image that was used in the story is from an article by Hong Kong Free Press. According to Wikipedia, World News Daily Report is a satirical fake news website purporting to be an American Jewish Zionist newspaper based in Tel Aviv.

For more reliable and latest news