Satire Doctored CNN Article Goes Viral
The Claim
CNN reported a vaccinated overweight woman got COVID-19 from her unvaccinated neighbor.
News posted on
Emerging story
An image of a CNN news article is circulating on social media, including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Pictured in the claim is an overweight woman in a hospital bed, and the headline reads “‘Healthy 40-year Old COVID Victim’s Last Words: “I blame unvaccinated for this.’” The article is dated 25th August 2021. The short extract that follows claims that the lady is Sheila Johnson, who lived a healthy lifestyle and was vaccinated, yet she contracted COVID-19 from her unvaccinated neighbor. Her last words before dying were to blame the “unvaccinated”.
Misbar’s Analysis
A primary search on CNN’s website did not reveal the article, confirming that they did not publish it. A reverse image search using Google was done and can be seen below.
The results showed that the source of the image was a satirical website called Ifunny. However, many users did not understand the satire and took it as real news. Upon further investigation, it was revealed that the lady pictured was on a TLC reality show called My 600-lb Life, named Cindy Vela. The exact image was found in another article dated June 26, 2021, pictured below.
Given the findings, it can be confirmed that the ‘CNN article’ is doctored, and it was not found on the official website. The lady in the image was undergoing weight-related medical care and not COVID-19 related. Although intended as satire, the claim has led to misinformation.
