FACT CHECK: Did The Burning Man Project Tweet An Ebola Outbreak Occurred At The Festival?
A post shared on social media purportedly shows a screenshot of a tweet from the Burning Man Project that confirms an Ebola outbreak occurred at the festival.
absolutely wild that burning man spawned THE EBOLA VIRUS pic.twitter.com/zXX6vvTtzU
— Squirtle (@squirtle_says) September 3, 2023
Verdict: False
The claim is inaccurate. There is no evidence that this tweet is authentic.
Fact Check:
Heavy rain caused thousands of Burning Man attendees to be trapped in the ankle-deep mud for days, The New York Times reported. The last of the attendees were able to leave the venue on Wednesday as three weeks of cleanup began.
The Twitter post purports the host of the event announced an Ebola outbreak on X. The post shares an image allegedly from the official account of the Burning Man Project with almost 90k views.
The alleged tweet reads, “For anyone who attended Burning Man, we unfortunately have to share with you that an attendee has contracted ebola. We apologize for the inconvenience, and we urge you to get checked.”
The caption reads, “absolutely wild that burning man spawned THE EBOLA VIRUS.”
The claim is inaccurate. There is no credible news report that suggests this tweet is authentic. No such tweet appears on the Burning Man Project Twitter account. No archived version of the tweet is available either. Likewise, no such announcement appears on their website.
The Burning Man website shared an update recently that claimed the Ebola outbreak rumor is not true. They wrote, “The online rumors of transmissible illnesses in Black Rock City are unfounded and untrue.” (RELATED: No, Forbes Did Not Report That Burning Man Had An Ebola Outbreak)
Rumors about an Ebola outbreak have gone viral on social media. The Associated Press reported that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention told the outlet that they have received no evidence of any such outbreak at the festival.
This is not the first time misinformation regarding the Burning Man Festival. Check Your Fact debunked a post that Ebola patients from the festival caused LAX to be evacuated.
