Ebola related hoaxes have really taken off on the Internet over the last few weeks, and that’s hardly surprising given how much we know hoaxers love to exploit international stories like this.
Fake-news “fauxtire” websites (websites that post nonsense and called it satire) like NationalReport have predictably got in on the act, and this has led to two similar rumours circulating that claim that U2 lead singer Bono as well as a family of five in Texas have all tested positive for the Ebola virus.
The panic-inducing National Report.net article tells the tale of the Phillips family who exhibited Ebola symptoms after the father Jack Phillip returned from an international business trip. After getting tested in hospital they tested positive to Ebola.
Of course this entire story is false, and just one of an endless number of fake stories published by serial-rumour starter National Report.
And perhaps a more ridiculous article to hit the Internet is the false assertion that singer Bono contracted the Ebola virus whilst caring for an ill Liberian man. This rumour was thanks to another fauxtire website called Organ Grinder magazine and again it doesn’t contain a single grain of truth.
Ebola related hoaxes are probably going to be with us for some time, so if we are to offer an blanket advice here, it’s to NOT SPREAD any Ebola related information across the Internet and on social networking sites, unless it has been confirmed with a REPUTABLE and trusted news outlet.
Read more about fake-news fauxtire websites here and how they exploit events and stories like this.