BURSTING into the room in a hazmat suit, a frantic medic rushes to a 'quarantined' teenage girl
www.thesun.co.uk
But this young 'patient' doesn't have the deadly coronavirus - instead she's just pretending to be infected, duping thousands of concerned fans on TikTok.
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A TikTok user shared a video of her looking panicked as she announced that she tested positive for coronavirus
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The teenager's friend dressed up in a hazmat suit and burst into her room
With more than 5,000 deaths worldwide, millions have been sent home from work and cities across Europe locked down as governments scramble to contain the virus.
Yet desperate social media users are also exploiting the coronavirus crisis in a twisted bid for likes.
In one extreme stunt, a YouTuber was even carted off by police after forcing a plane to be turned around with 250 passengers aboard.
It comes after the Sun launched its TikTok Time Bomb campaign, calling for the video platform to better moderate its content and provide a safe space for children.
'Just been told I had coronavirus'
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After her house was 'raided' by the medics, she had a swab shoved into her mouth by a gloved hand
In the TikTok hazmat video, which has now been removed, 'medics' swab the girl's mouth after she claims she has been in "quarantine" following a trip from Italy.
The brazen Brit with a mask strapped across her mouth 'confirms' that she has tested positive - sparking fears for her health among her 95k followers.
The clip, which racked up 7million views, captures 'medical staff' rummaging around the house and bagging things up before giving her a swab test.
However, in a second video posted later, she sombrely says: "A couple of days ago I posted this TikTok where my friend wore a painter suit and I pretended to have coronavirus."
She said that she and her pal thought the video looked fake and didn't expect that it would get 7million views.
She then said that she found the reaction to her videos "interesting" and warned her followers to be wise to "fake news".
With British Red Cross, World Health Organisation and CDC logos plastered on the screen she told people that they shouldn't be living in fear of the virus.
Revealing that she had received death threats, she joked that she is more likely to die from suicide than coronavirus.
Millions of hits for 'fake news'
Also on the hunt for the ultimate TikTok fame, a Canadian user grimaced as he revealed that his friend was the "first presumptive case of coronavirus confirmed in [British Columbia]."
He filmed himself strolling through a school before entering a classroom that was being used as an emergency "quarantine".
One of the boys let out a dramatic cough and someone behind him seems to dial for medial assistance.
Then a news article flashes up: "First presumptive case of coronavirus confirmed in B.C."
"That's him" appears on the screen, pointing to the picture of the boy in the video.
Within no time at all the video, which has now been removed from TikTok, racked up over 4.1million views, 800,000 likes and 5,100 comments.
Stephen May, a spokesman for British Columbia Department of Health, told The Daily Beast: "It's fake. He's doctored the news story in the video."
Cashing in further on the deadly virus, the teenager posted another video claiming he had contracted it himself and was being "moved to quarantine."
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The young lad grinned at the camera as he made the announcement Plane forced into emergency landing
However, coronavirus 'pranks' are not just limited to TikTok and have been found across a number of platforms.
In one YouTube video, a wanna influencer attempted to make a video go viral by joking that he might have coronavirus whilst he was on a plane.
6
YouTuber James Potok apologises for pretending to have coronavirus on board a plane, causing it to be grounded
But instead, his irresponsible behaviour forced the pilot to perform an emergency landing.
Once the aircraft touched down, James Potok, who announced that he had been to the "capital of the coronavirus" and didn't feel well, was arrested.
He had been on board a WestJet flight from Toronto to Montego Bay, Jamaica, last month when he stood up and said: "Can I have everybody's attention, I just came back from Hunan province."
One of the other 243 passengers on the flight, Julie-Anne Broderick, wrote on Facebook that her flight had been turned around because "some idiot pretended he had coronavirus to post on YouTube."
Teen TikTok users FAKE having coronavirus in desperate bid for likes
BURSTING into the room in a hazmat suit, a frantic medic rushes to a ‘quarantined’ teenage girl. But this young ‘patient’ doesn’t have the deadly coronavirus – i…
www.thesun.co.uk
But this young 'patient' doesn't have the deadly coronavirus - instead she's just pretending to be infected, duping thousands of concerned fans on TikTok.
6
A TikTok user shared a video of her looking panicked as she announced that she tested positive for coronavirus
6
The teenager's friend dressed up in a hazmat suit and burst into her room
With more than 5,000 deaths worldwide, millions have been sent home from work and cities across Europe locked down as governments scramble to contain the virus.
Yet desperate social media users are also exploiting the coronavirus crisis in a twisted bid for likes.
In one extreme stunt, a YouTuber was even carted off by police after forcing a plane to be turned around with 250 passengers aboard.
It comes after the Sun launched its TikTok Time Bomb campaign, calling for the video platform to better moderate its content and provide a safe space for children.
'Just been told I had coronavirus'
6
After her house was 'raided' by the medics, she had a swab shoved into her mouth by a gloved hand
In the TikTok hazmat video, which has now been removed, 'medics' swab the girl's mouth after she claims she has been in "quarantine" following a trip from Italy.
The brazen Brit with a mask strapped across her mouth 'confirms' that she has tested positive - sparking fears for her health among her 95k followers.
The clip, which racked up 7million views, captures 'medical staff' rummaging around the house and bagging things up before giving her a swab test.
However, in a second video posted later, she sombrely says: "A couple of days ago I posted this TikTok where my friend wore a painter suit and I pretended to have coronavirus."
She said that she and her pal thought the video looked fake and didn't expect that it would get 7million views.
She then said that she found the reaction to her videos "interesting" and warned her followers to be wise to "fake news".
With British Red Cross, World Health Organisation and CDC logos plastered on the screen she told people that they shouldn't be living in fear of the virus.
Revealing that she had received death threats, she joked that she is more likely to die from suicide than coronavirus.
Millions of hits for 'fake news'
Also on the hunt for the ultimate TikTok fame, a Canadian user grimaced as he revealed that his friend was the "first presumptive case of coronavirus confirmed in [British Columbia]."
He filmed himself strolling through a school before entering a classroom that was being used as an emergency "quarantine".
One of the boys let out a dramatic cough and someone behind him seems to dial for medial assistance.
Then a news article flashes up: "First presumptive case of coronavirus confirmed in B.C."
"That's him" appears on the screen, pointing to the picture of the boy in the video.
Within no time at all the video, which has now been removed from TikTok, racked up over 4.1million views, 800,000 likes and 5,100 comments.
Stephen May, a spokesman for British Columbia Department of Health, told The Daily Beast: "It's fake. He's doctored the news story in the video."
Cashing in further on the deadly virus, the teenager posted another video claiming he had contracted it himself and was being "moved to quarantine."
6
The young lad grinned at the camera as he made the announcement Plane forced into emergency landing
However, coronavirus 'pranks' are not just limited to TikTok and have been found across a number of platforms.
In one YouTube video, a wanna influencer attempted to make a video go viral by joking that he might have coronavirus whilst he was on a plane.
6
YouTuber James Potok apologises for pretending to have coronavirus on board a plane, causing it to be grounded
But instead, his irresponsible behaviour forced the pilot to perform an emergency landing.
Once the aircraft touched down, James Potok, who announced that he had been to the "capital of the coronavirus" and didn't feel well, was arrested.
He had been on board a WestJet flight from Toronto to Montego Bay, Jamaica, last month when he stood up and said: "Can I have everybody's attention, I just came back from Hunan province."
One of the other 243 passengers on the flight, Julie-Anne Broderick, wrote on Facebook that her flight had been turned around because "some idiot pretended he had coronavirus to post on YouTube."
