Viral Twitter Post of Dr Aisha's Death Due to COVID-19 Is Fake, 'Old' Image of Alive Medical Student Being Shared on Social Media With False Narrative
During the COVID-19 pandemic, there is an outbreak of misinformation. Recently, "Dr Aisha" became one of the top trending stories on Twitter after a post about the death of a young doctor from the novel coronavirus infection went viral. The post shared by account @Aisha_must_sayz took Twitterati by an emotional storm. The account now has been deleted. Fact Check: Holding Breath For 10 Seconds Show if You Have Coronavirus? Here's The Truth About Viral Claim by PIB.
The message posted on July 31, 2020, said: "Haya friends not coping with Covid-19. Going to be hooked up to the ventilator sometime today. Remember me, my smile to you. Thank U 4 Ur friendship. Will miss Ull. Be safe take this deadly virus seriously. Luv u guys. Bye" Coronavirus is Bacteria And Can Be Cured With Aspirin? Viral Message Claiming The Same is Fake, Says PIB Fact-Check.
Post Shared by @Aisha_must_sayz Twitter Handle:
Tweet Shared by @Aisha_must_sayz
The post became viral and soon people started retweeting it with their opinions about Dr Aisha's death. Journalist Nidhi Razdan tweeted: "This is the saddest story you'll see today. A reminder that COVID-19 can kill even young people. We have no business being careless."
Razdan deleted the tweet after she founded that it is fake. It was also retweeted by Rana Ayyub, Nikhil Alva, Atul Kasbekar, Sanjukta Basu among others.
After the deluge of tweets, another tweet followed that "Aisha has passed away due to COVID-19. She had underlying conditions of Asthma, upper respiratory complications and hypertension."
Later in the day, another tweet from @Aisha_must_sayz, Dr Sarkar, the alleged sister of Dr Alisha said: "I am Dr Aisha sister zDr Sarkar. I had Aisha phone as she was not allowed a phone in her isolation. A request from her should anything happen to inform her friends on social media. We were handed a sealed coffin due to the virus. I will be deleting all her social media accounts."
A fact check by Boom Live found that the stories posted on '@Aisha_must_sayz' Twitter handle are fake. The fact-checking website said that the picture going viral is of a medical student from Walter Sisulu University in South Africa and she is alive.
The woman said that her pictures are shared with a fake narrative and she is not even infected with COVID-19. "I have exams and here I am answering calls of people asking me if I am dead. This is bullying and no way to treat anyone," she said.
She explained that the hospital photo making round on social media is from when she was admitted for a recurring medical condition. Hence, the story of Dr Aisha's death is fake. The image is being shared with a false narrative.
