Authors
Vasudha noticed the growing problem of mis/disinformation online after studying New Media at ACJ in Chennai and became interested in separating facts from fiction. She is interested in learning how global issues affect individuals on a micro level. Before joining Newschecker’s English team, she was working with Latestly.
A social media post, allegedly written and published by a doctor, claiming that he broke down at a mother’s death during childbirth is going viral. The post claims that a woman who had conceived after being “deprived of childbearing for 14 years,” died after childbirth at a hospital. It adds that the woman developed complications during delivery and was in labour for seven hours until doctors “decided to cut the abdomen.” “She carried her child in her arms and smiled, and then departed,” added the post. It also carries an image of a woman with a newborn and a man, seen breaking down, whom the viral claim identifies as the doctor.
Several Facebook users have shared the post believing it to be true.
Social media posts regarding tragedies gain a lot of traction. This is not the first time the claiming that a doctor broke down after a mother’s death during childbirth has gone viral. It has been doing the rounds on Facebook since 2019.
We found a similar post about the death of a woman after childbirth with the same image of the man, believed to be the doctor who allegedly wrote the post, from 2017 as well.
Fact Check/Verification
To verify the authenticity of the viral claim, we started to analyse the post and images carefully. We found that the language was grammatically incorrect and though a doctor is credited with writing the post, the following line is written as a first-person account. ‘“During the time of delivery, my husband rushed to me and left all my work for the generation…”
Newschecker also found a watermark on the image of a woman with a newborn child that is part of the viral post. After conducting Google reverse image search, we found the viral image on a Facebook page called ‘Merve Tiritoğlu Şengünler Photography.’ The image was posted on December 14, 2015, with the caption ‘En güzel kavuşma’ which translates to ‘The most beautiful reunion.’
We conducted a Google reverse image search on the picture of the man as well and traced it to an Instagram page called ‘ozgemetinphotography.’ The image was posted on September 5, 2017, with the caption ‘azı babalar o kadar güzel yaşıyor ki bu anları. ..Icimden iyi ki baba olmuş diyorum’ which translates to ‘Some fathers live so beautifully that these moments. ..I’m glad to say that he became a father.’
Conclusion
The viral post claiming that a doctor broke down at a mother’s death during childbirth is false. The woman in the picture didn’t die, and the man is not a doctor. The images were taken in two separate places at different times and have been given a fabricated spin.
Result: Fabricated
Our Sources
Facebook Page Of Merve Tiritoğlu Şengünler Photography
Instagram Page Of ozgemetinphotography
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Authors
Vasudha noticed the growing problem of mis/disinformation online after studying New Media at ACJ in Chennai and became interested in separating facts from fiction. She is interested in learning how global issues affect individuals on a micro level. Before joining Newschecker’s English team, she was working with Latestly.
