The man behind the Nashville bombing was killed in the blast. No news outlet said he died from COVID

The man behind the Dec. 25 bombing in downtown Nashville, Tenn., died of COVID-19, according to a popular — and wrong — Facebook post.

The post displays a headline from a fabricated story by the Genesius Times, a satirical news website, that reads: "BREAKING: Nashville Bomber died from COVID-19 shortly after blowing himself up." 

Below the headline is an image that looks like it’s a picture from a CNN broadcast, with chyron that announces the Nashville bomber "died from COVID."

The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

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stated on September 30, 2024 in in social media posts

“Biden Announces: ‘2.4 billion more to Ukraine’ but ‘no more aid for Hurricane Helene.’”

Some users seemed to recognize the story as fake, but others didn’t. So we will clear it up: It’s fake.

CNN didn’t report that Anthony Warner, the person authorities have identified as the bomber, died from COVID-19. Warner died in the blast, according to authorities.

Breaking news meme generators are frequently used online to create fabricated headlines and chyrons such as this one. The Genesius Times describes itself as the "most reliable source of fake news on the planet" and that it strives "to provide the most up-to-date, accurate fake news on the Internet," the website says. 

This screengrab is being shared on social media without that context. We rate this post Pants on Fire!