Claim
After 16 hours of construction, the 1st building of Huoshenshan Hospital in #Wuhan has been completed on Monday. The hospital is expected to be handed over to the military on 2nd February upon completion and put into use for #coronavirus patients.
#Update: After 16 hours of construction, the 1st building of Huoshenshan Hospital in #Wuhan has completed on Monday. The hospital is expected to be handed over to the military on Feb 2 upon completion and put into use for #coronavirus patients. pic.twitter.com/ino3U8vW0H
— People’s Daily, China (@PDChina) January 27, 2020
Verification
With the outbreak of the Coronavirus, panic has been triggered across the world. Thousands of people have been affected and 259 have been killed in China so far. In India, one confirmed case of Coronavirus has been reported. Since the news of Coronavirus broke, fear-mongering messages including unverified videos, false numbers of confirmed infections and self-made theories are doing rounds on various Social Media platforms.
We found a picture viral on social media which claims that after 16 hours of construction, the first building of Huoshenshan Hospital in Wuhan has been completed. We also found that a Chinese state media outlet – People’s Daily China – posted the same viral image on their official Twitter handle.
As we began fact-checking the claim, we found many social media users tasking down the Chinese State media outlet and calling them out for the picture they claimed to be of the newly built building of Huoshenshan hospital in Wuhan. Read some of the tweets by netizens here:
#Update That’s an oops. https://t.co/VsENwaAdwA pic.twitter.com/qs3rc6Jqt2
— Erwan Le Morhedec (@koztoujours) January 27, 2020
Hey People’s Propaganda of China pic.twitter.com/deO1WGENnd
— Tia (@Tia_Arizona) January 27, 2020
We ran a reverse image search using TinEye, an image search platform. We found that the viral photograph has been on the internet since September 2019 and is from a home building site.
The search led us to the actual image from where it was taken. We found that the viral image was taken from an online listing and is actually a modular apartment building.
What fueled the claim?
According to a report in Business Insider, China is building two hospitals at a rapid speed in the coronavirus-stricken city, Wuhan. One hospital would reportedly have 1,000 beds and is to be used from 3 February.
We also found that the false image started circulating after videos showing the rapid construction of a new hospital in Wuhan went viral across various social media platforms.
Conclusion :
Newschecker’s team fact-checked the claim and found that the images viral on Social Media claiming that the first building of Huoshenshan Hospital in Wuhan has been completed is misleading. The viral image was taken from an online listing and is actually a modular apartment building.
Sources
Google Search
TinEye search
Twitter search
Result: Misleading
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