Man Didn't Sneak Out Dressed as Tree
The Claim
A man dressed as a tree to break the quarantine imposed in the US during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Emerging story
On April 23, 2020, websites and users on social media published a picture of a man hiding inside a tree claiming he was trying to sneak out during the imposed lockdown in America. The man dressed as a tree was arrested by the police.
Misbar’s Analysis
A reverse image search by Misbar found that the picture of the man is not new, but has been circulating since 2016. Asher Woodworth, a 30-year-old artist, stood amid traffic in Portland as he was inside a tree as part of his artwork. Woodworth told local media that his "motivation was to see how people would react to what he called his ‘performance’ and how he might impact ‘people’s natural choreography.'” Woodworth is now known as the tree man.
The picture of the tree man was published in 2016, which makes it clear that the picture is not relevant to the current period affected by the spread of the coronavirus.
