Facebook users are claiming there ‘is no’ coronavirus. That’s ridiculously wrong

Since January, PolitiFact has fact-checked more than 100 claims about COVID-19. Some of the falsehoods, such as conspiracy theories about the virus’ spread, are quite elaborate.

A more recent Facebook post is not one of those claims.

In a March 19 post, a Facebook user said the coronavirus doesn’t actually exist.

"There is no virus," the user wrote in all capital letters. "The government is trying to enforce martial law and place a chip inside of us as a ‘vaccine.’"

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.) It had more than 8,000 shares as of March 19.

(Screenshot from Facebook)

The post is bogus — it’s similar to a conspiracy theory that falsely claims the media and politicians have fabricated the threat of COVID-19. There is ample evidence that the coronavirus is real and infecting hundreds of thousands of people around the world.

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Scientists have traced the first confirmed case of COVID-19 to Hubei Province, China, in November. Several news outlets covered the subsequent outbreak in the city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic.

From there, the coronavirus spread to more than 100 countries around the world. As of March 19, more than 191,000 people had been infected and 7,807 had been killed by the virus, according to the World Health Organization.

Footage from a variety of news outlets has documented the spread of COVID-19. Scientists have isolated the genetic data and approximate origin of the virus, as well as how different groups of people are affected. They’ve also released microscopic images of coronavirus virions.

RELATED: 7 ways to avoid misinformation during the coronavirus pandemic

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, COVID-19 is a betacoronavirus like Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). All three have their origins in bats and cause symptoms like cough, shortness of breath and fever. COVID-19 is a "novel," or new, coronavirus, meaning it had not been previously identified.

The WHO has declared the COVID-19 outbreak to be a pandemic and global health emergency. On the advice of health officials, several countries — including France, Italy and Spain — have ordered nationwide lockdowns to prevent the spread of the virus. Coronavirus prevention measures have caused the plunge of global financial markets, as well as layoffs across the country.

To claim that the virus at the center of the pandemic does not exist, as the Facebook post does, is inaccurate and ridiculous. We rate it Pants on Fire!