[FACT OR FAKE #88] Has Ebola Really Spread Inside The Islamic State?
There are reports of ISIS fighters contracting Ebola circulating the Internet with people, secretly hoping them to be true, sharing far and wide. In our this week's FACT OR FAKE column, we analyse whether the reports are true or not.
By Sadho Ram — 11 Jan 2015, 05:15 PM — Updated almost 10 years ago
In the first week of January 2015, several online media including Mashable reported that ISIS fighters have contracted Ebola
Citing the state-run media sources, the reports said that Islamic State militants in Mosul have contracted Ebola. 3 local outlets reported that the deadly disease showed up at a hospital in Mosul, a city 250 miles north of Baghdad that's been under ISIS control.
FAKE: No, the ISIS fighters have NOT contracted Ebola!
In a statement released 6 January 2015, the World Health Organisation reported that despite reports of Ebola cases in Mosul in several Iraqi media sources last week, the Iraqi Ministry of Health and the United Nations health agency confirm that no cases of the disease have so far been found in the country.
But it hans't stopped secretly hopeful folks from sharing the rumours on social media with numbers reaching over 60,000 times
The story had already been shared some 60,000 times on social media; it was after all, as one commenter put it, an “old-white-people-fear mash-up” for the record books.
washingtonpost.com