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| - Fact Check: Love in the time of Corona? Know the truth behind this viral image
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, an image of a couple has caught the attention of social media. Many users have posted the image of a man and woman with masks undone, holding each other closely, and claimed that this is a doctor couple in Italy who have treated more than 134 Covid-19 patients, but died on the eighth day giving in to the deadly disease.
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India Today Fact Check
This photograph was taken in Barcelona airport, Spain. No such news report of the Italian doctor couple found.
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, an image of a couple has caught the attention of social media. Many users have posted the image of a man and woman with masks undone, holding each other closely, and claimed that this is a doctor couple in Italy who have treated more than 134 Covid-19 patients, but died on the eighth day giving in to the deadly disease.
This melodramatic story has been shared by many Facebook users such as "Vijay Kumar Sagar Moradabadi" and "RK Narula".
The Hindi caption loosely translates to, "Both husband and wife were doctors in Italy and saved 134 lives from coronavirus. On the eighth day, they got infected and were shifted to separate rooms. When they felt they would not survive, they met and looked at each other with love in their eyes. After half an hour, they died."
The archived versions of the posts are saved here and here.
India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found the claim to be misleading. The couple was photographed at Spain's Barcelona airport and not in any hospital of Italy. The viral story along with the picture is also fictitious.
This post is quite viral on Facebook.
Using reverse image search, we found that the viral picture has been used in several news articles related to the coronavirus outbreak in Spain on various websites such as "Tampa Bay Times" and "The Washington Times".
The picture was attributed to Emilio Morenatti of global news agency Associated Press (AP).
The original picture caption by AP reads, "A man and woman kiss in the Barcelona, Spain airport on Thursday, March 12, 2020." This photo was created on March 12, 2020.
AFWA spoke to Emilio Morenatti and asked if there is any truth associated with the viral claim about the Italian doctor couple. The photographer responded through Instagram, saying, "I think it's fake news." Morenatti had no other information about the viral couple.
Morenatti had also tweeted the photograph on March 12, 2020, saying, "A couple kiss at the Barcelona airport, Spain, Thursday, March 12, 2020. President Donald Trump announces strict rules on restricting travel from much of Europe to begin this weekend."
A couple kiss at the Barcelona airport, Spain, Thursday, March 12, 2020. President Donald Trump announces strict rules on restricting travel from much of Europe to begin this weekend. #COVID_19 #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/wZDZEprehU Emilio Morenatti (@EmilioMorenatti) March 12, 2020
AFWA checked Italian news websites regarding articles about a doctor couple who died treating coronavirus patients but found none.
Hence, it can be concluded that the viral image was shot at Barcelona airport in Spain and not Italy. The melodramatic story of a doctor couple who died treating Covid-19 patients could not be found in any credible Italian media either.
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