Daniel Radcliffe Tested Positive for Coronavirus? Here’s the Truth

The fake account has now been suspended by Twitter for violating the rules.

Published
WebQoof
2 min read
The ‘Harry Potter’ star was the latest victim of fake news.
i

CLAIM

Amid the coronavirus outbreak, a tweet about actor Daniel Radcliffe of Harry Potter fame being the first ‘famous person’ diagnosed with novel coronavirus is doing the round on social media.

It was posted by a Twitter account named ‘BBC Breaking News’ with the handle name @BBCNewsTonight. The tweet read, “BREAKING: Daniel Radcliffe tests positive for coronavirus. The actor is said to be the first famous person to be publicly confirmed.”

Screenshot of the viral tweet
Screenshot of the viral tweet
(Source: Twitter)

TRUE OR FALSE?

The claim is false.

Firstly, the Twitter handle responsible for the viral post is not the official account of BBC News.

Secondly, Daniel Radcliffe’s publicist confirmed to Buzzfeed that the news was “not true.” The fake BBC account has now been suspended by Twitter for violating the rules.

WHAT WE FOUND OUT

Under their live reporting section, BBC called the account in question as “fake.”

BBC called the Twitter account as fake.
BBC called the Twitter account as fake.
(Photo Courtesy: BBC/ Screengrab)

On being questioned whether the actor had been tested coronavirus positive, Radcliffe’s publicist said, “Not true,” Buzzfeed News reported.

Further, the account in question didn’t possess a blue tick, which is a sign of a verified account. On the contrary, the official account of BBC Breaking News does have a blue tick and the handle’s name is @BBCBreaking.

Screenshot of the official Twitter handle of BBC News
Screenshot of the official Twitter handle of BBC News
(Source: Twitter)

Moreover, according to the Buzzfeed article, the fake account had only 125 followers while the official handle of BBC News is followed by over 40 million people.

Evidently, a fake account of BBC Breaking News tried to spread misinformation that actor Daniel Radcliffe was tested coronavirus positive.

The fake account has now been suspended by Twitter for violating the rules.

You can read all our fact-check stories on coronavirus here.

(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on Whatsapp at 9643651818, or e-mail it to us at webqoof@thequint.com and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)

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