Rumors of an Ebola outbreak at the Burning Man festival spread like wildfire over the weekend with social media users posting fake health advisories, flight data and conspiracy theories to TikTok and Twitter, Forbes reported. Though the rumors have been debunked, their rapid spread is another example of the dangers of online misinformation, particularly on Twitter.
The rumor mill got up and running on Saturday when two Twitter users – one with a “verified” account – posted a fake screenshot from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Twitter account that said that an outbreak had been confirmed at the festival and that Burning Man attendees should shelter in place. “Tweeted and Deleted; Apparently there’s a fucking Ebola outbreak at Burning Man right now,” the verified user captioned the screenshot.
