CLAIM
A photo is being massively shared on social media with the claim that the woman in the image is pregnant and suffering from the novel coronavirus. The text further claims that the doctor has mentioned that she will not survive it and in case she does, the baby will be COVID-19 positive.
The post urges people to share the post in four groups as a way to pray for the family. The post shared by one Yadav Gelal had garnered 12,000 shares at the time of publishing the story.
WHAT’S THE TRUTH?
We reverse searched the image on Google and found that the same image was carried in an article published by a website called ‘MOTHER’. The article, published on 12 March, is headlined as: ‘35+ OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL MOMENTS IN BIRTH PHOTOGRAPHY (sic)’
The article mentions that the viral image has been captured by Elaine Baca, a documentary photographer, who is the owner of Lane B.
We scanned the photographer’s website and found that the same image was uploaded under the ‘Home Birth/ Birth Centre’ category. However, the image carried no caption.
We, then, searched the photographer’s Instagram handle by the name of ‘lanebphotography’ and found that the same image was posted on 15 January 2019, way before the first case of novel coronavirus in the world was even reported.
The photo has been shared with the caption: “Power. Love. Womanhood.”
Elaine Baca told The Quint that the woman in the picture does not have COVID-19 and that she has never had it.
“I spoke with her yesterday to confirm. This photo is being used without my permission. The photo was from a birth in January 2019 and the mother is pictured in labor being supported by her husband,” she said.
Evidently, an old photo is being shared to falsely claim that the woman in the picture is pregnant and has been infected with the coronavirus.
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