The famous American alternative festival, Burning Man, was forced to close its doors earlier than planned. And for Internet users, the reason is clear: an Ebola epidemic would circulate there. “The chaos continues at the Burning Man Festival. The media remains silent on Ebola news from Burning Man. Is this the next pandemic trigger? “Writes a user on X (formerly Twitter).
Internet users even share a screenshot of what they present as being a publication by the health authorities which confirms this epidemic, and which has since been deleted. others share pictures of body bags in the middle of the desert and claim that they are the victims of the virus. Some even go so far as to announce the death of their loved ones following the contraction of the disease at the festival. What is it really ? 20 minutes make the point.
FAKE OFF
There is no Ebola outbreak at Burning Man in Nevada. Moreover, there has not been the slightest case detected, nor the slightest doubt on this subject on the side of the organization. This whole rumor came from social media.
Because in reality, the organizers were forced to end the event due to the heavy rains that affected the region. No less than 20 mm of rain fell on Saturday evening, which made the site impassable. Usually rather hampered by the high desert heat and sandstorms, the festival is in the open air.
A fake born on social networks
Entrances to the site, as well as exits, were blocked. All the festival-goers were stuck in this mud, and they became the laughingstock of many Internet users. Among the many posts about Burning Man, in all this chaos, a message posted on X claimed that health authorities had confirmed the presence of Ebola there. Screenshot in support, many people have fallen into the trap.
At the same time, several people shared alleged conversations with their relatives present on the site: “Here they say that there is some kind of virus on the loose at Burning Man which causes boils/vomiting/hemorrhages. Apparently that’s why they don’t let people in. I do not know if that’s true. I’ve been in a motorhome all day. The organizers would therefore have lied and the weather conditions would only be an excuse. What to embellish the rumor: the Nevada State Police announced on Saturday to investigate a death. In reality, it “occurred during this episode of heavy rain”, without providing further details on the circumstances of the death.
The organization formally denied this news: “I can confirm that the entrance to the event has been closed for the year due to unusual rains which caused muddy conditions where there was a complete stoppage of vehicles, and not because of an Ebola outbreak,” they told US media. According to the doctors, there is also no risk of an epidemic of such a virus on site at present. Rather, festival-goers who were stuck there were advised to beware of hypothermia. A dead person