Chinese State Media Shares Fake Video Of Thermal Cameras Capturing Farts While Looking For Coronavirus

Let's get this out of the way: Fart are not spreading coronavirus. No one would blame you for thinking that, though, considering who's casually creating a correlation between flatulence and the global pandemic: Chinese state media.

On Monday, the Global Times, a tabloid media outlet controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, tweeted, "Can't help farting? Well, better try harder, because infrared temperature sensors recently installed in airports and train stations to monitor temperatures of passengers amid #coronavirus outbreak can screen them all."

Chinese infrared sensors didn't capture this video, though; it was created by an online group called "Banana Factory," according to Gizmodo. The video first went viral in 2016, when its creators admitted that the farts were added digitally.

"This video was shot on FLIR thermal camera," the video description reads. "Every thermal footage is authentic, only farts are edited digitally."

Can't help farting? Well, better try harder, because infrared temperature sensors recently installed in airports and train stations to monitor temperatures of passengers amid #coronavirus outbreak can screen them all pic.twitter.com/70ncE1HqYr

— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) February 4, 2020

Some might remember the video from its initial viral success, appearing on Reddit, LadBible and various social media feeds. However, the video is gaining second life on TikTok, which is apparently where the Global Times found it. However, the "Banana Factor" watermark from the video has been curiously scrubbed, allowing the clip to spread once again with much more serious ramifications. As the coronavirus continues to spread, having killed more than 425 people and affecting 20,000 more, so to does the spread of conspiracy theories and, yes, fake news.

According to Gizmodo:

Chinese media isn’t very reliable in general, but state-run outlets like CGTN seem to have been taking the threat of the new coronavirus seriously in recent weeks. This video from Global Times, however, could erode trust in the things we’re hearing out of China, a place where the authoritarian government has already lied about a number of issues relevant to public health during the earliest days of the coronavirus crisis.

So please, before hitting retweet, take a breath and verify the information your spreading.