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The Observers
@Observers
[thread] "Chinese people eating #batsoup"... You've probably seen some of these videos that have flooded social networks since the outbreak of the #coronavirus epidemic in China, with caption suggesting that eating bats was a cause of the virus. We fact-checked seven videos...
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The Observers
@Observers
First off, we talked to several experts in Chinese cuisine. They all agreed: there is no tradition of eating bats in Chinese culture. It's generally seen as disgusting, in #Wuhan and elsewhere in #China.
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The Observers
@Observers
Video #1: This video does indeed show a Chinese woman eating a bat - not in #Wuhan, but 3,000 km away in the Pacific nation #Palau. She's a well-known influencer on the Chinese network Weibo, who said she filmed the video in 2016 as part of a travel show.
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The Observers
@Observers
She said she made the video "over the summer," but didn't say where. She is wearing summer clothing in the video, and the dish is typical of #Palau - but it's impossible to confirm whether she was there.
6:10 PM · Feb 4, 2020TweetDeck
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The Observers
@Observers
A restaurant manager in #Palau told us he recognised the restaurant in the video, and said it was in Palau (though not his). Details in the video - the pattern on the plates, the shape of the table - are consistent with photos posted by other tourists visiting Palau.
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The Observers
@Observers
Video #4: This video shows a man eating bat soup. It was posted on Instagram by the "coronavirusdaily" account, with the caption: "bat restaurant in #Wuhan".
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The Observers
@Observers
Video #5: This video showing a Filipino couple eating bat soup was posted on #Youtube with the caption "Filipinos eating bat soup in WUHAN and they might get infected". In fact they made the video in Palau as well, and posted it in July 2019.
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The Observers
@Observers
Video #7: This one supposedly shows a visit to the Wuhan market, with dogs, snakes, rats and bat kebabs being sold. But the text on screen at the beginning of the video makes it clear that it was filmed at a market in Langowan, also in #Indonesia.
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