Daniel Radcliffe Speaks Out About the Twitter Hoax Claiming He Has Coronavirus (JSYK, He Doesn’t)

From Cosmopolitan

• The Twitter rumor mill really thought Daniel Radcliffe had coronavirus.

• He DOES NOT, as his publicist confirmed.

• A fake Twitter account posing as BBC Breaking News started the rumor though, and some prominent users fell for it.

Update, March 12, 2020:

The Boy Who Lived is speaking out himself about what happened with the latest internet hoax involving him and coronavirus. (JSYK, Daniel Radcliffe does not have coronavirus.)

“I walked into the hair and makeup room on a play yesterday, and the makeup artist was like, ‘My niece has just texted me and told me you’ve got corona,’” Daniel said on Australian radio show Smallzy’s Surgery. “I think it was on a fake BBC account, but then enough people saw it. That is the internet.”

“I think it’s just because I look ill all the time, so you can believably say it about me. ’Cause I’m very pale,” he joked, adding, “But, you know, flattered they chose me.”

Original story, March 10, 2020:

As more and more information comes out about coronavirus, most people are doing what they can to be helpful and spread facts, but even in these scary times, there are still internet trolls who insist on spreading false info for literally! no! reason!

Case in point: A Twitter account posed as a fake BBC Breaking News account with the goals of (a) spreading fake news and (b) concerning the masses. The user started a rumor that Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe has coronavirus, which his publicist immediately debunked.

In the tweet, the since-deleted account wrote, “BREAKING: Daniel Radcliffe tests positive for coronavirus. The actor is said to be the first famous person to be publicly confirmed.” Obviously, this is fake news, but a slew of journalists from the New York Times, CBS News, and Politico fell for it by retweeting it, which is...concerning.

It almost goes without saying, but this is really not okay, guys! The tweet quickly gained traction because the account looked alarmingly similar to BBC’s other handles, and it managed to fool people by taking advantage of genuine public concern. The account has since been suspended.

There’s still no word on whether Daniel has seen the rumor yet. (He chooses to stay off social media, which sounds like a great idea right about now.) But this whole thing is a good reminder to stay up to date on the ACTUAL coronavirus facts from the CDC...and remember to double-check news before panicking and also wash your hands for at least 20 seconds, kay?

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