A scene from the 2007 sci-fi mini-series Pandemic has gone viral in the backdrop of the deadly Coronavirus outbreak, with false claims that 'bodies packed in body bags are being dumped in mass graves in Italy and Spain'.
The 20-second video opens with a scene showing bodies wrapped in body bags lying in a large hall. The scene then shifts to a news reporter speaking about mass graves being dug for victims of a virus plaguing the city. Towards the end, one can see bodies being dumped in a large pit.
The caption with one of the posts reads '#Italy dump dead bodies into garbage (Sic.).' See the post below and access its archives version here.
Another post with the same video claims 'Bodies are packed in body bags n dumped in mass graves in italy n spain (Sic)'. See the post below and check its archived version here.
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The novel Coronavirus has so far claimed 24,077 lives world wide. The number of deaths due to COVID-19 reported from Italy and Spain are 8,215 and 4,365 respectively, at the time of writing this story.
Fact Check
We listened to the viral clip carefully. Here's what the reporter appearing in the video says: "Though unsubstantiated by state and city authorities, we now have information from a knowledgeable source that tells us that the city's temporary morgues are filled beyond capacity. Mass graves have been dug for the incineration and burial of the dead. The current death toll due to the Riptide virus is now in thousands...'"
BOOM then searched the internet with keywords 'Riptide virus' and found about the 2007 science-fiction mini-series Pandemic. The mini-series, aired on America's pay-television cable channel Hallmark Channel in 2007, is centered around the outbreak of a fictitious Riptide virus.
Watch the portion of the clip from the original mini-series that has now gone viral with false claims.