“Trump suffering from stroke” hoax warning spreads online

A viral warning that is spreading across Facebook and WhatsApp claims that a picture is spreading titled “Trump suffering from a stroke” and opening it will cause your computer to lose all information.

An example of the warning from 2018 can be seen below –

Emegency notice
Brothers and sisters in the group:
Just received the picture if you received the “Trump Suffering from Stroke”, please do not open it and delete it immediately. Now it has been confirmed that this is a relatively young Filipino Internet youth. Attacking Chinese computers and mobile phones will cause the computer to lose all information. Please send it to each group and inform each other.
Someone has been scammed
(Emergency relay)

The warning is a hoax. There have been no legitimate warnings from any relevant entity describing such a threat. This is just one of many nonsense warnings that have managed to spread virally across apps and social media that are designed to panic users into spreading them.

Even if the warning was based on a real threat, it is so incredibly vague as to render itself almost completely useless. The warning fails to address exactly how the alleged threat attacks victims, including how the picture is supposedly spreading and how it infects a device. The statement that a computer will “lose all information” is overly alarmist and unclear.

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The warning bears a certain resemblance to a 2016 warning that claimed opening an image of two police officers arresting Trump would also infect your computer with a virus. That too was a hoax.

Of course you should be cautious when opening files or clicking links, especially if they appear suspicious, but circulating these nonsense warnings really doesn’t help anyone.