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Coronavirus: Fake screenshots showing 25,000 death toll, much higher than official figures, spreads fear in China

Many argued that the real-time screenshots could have been digitally altered
UPDATED FEB 10, 2020
(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

The authenticity of Beijing's official coronavirus death toll is once again under question after some reports claimed that a major Chinese media outlet had displayed much higher statistics of the victims before "correcting" the figures.

The reports claimed that figures for the coronavirus on Saturday was 154,023 infected and 24,589 dead. This is more than ten times and 80 times respectively of the official numbers published by the government then, Taiwan News reports.

This sparked a flurry of conspiracy theories — while some argued that the real-time screenshots could have been digitally altered, others argued that the disturbing new figures could have been leaked by whistleblower journalists who chose to defy the state's orders.

Chinese children wear plastic bottles as makeshift homemade protection and protective masks while waiting to check-in to a flight at Beijing Capital Airport on January 30, 2020, in Beijing, China. (Getty Images)

In some other "leaked" figures, the number of cured cases was listed at 269 instead of 351, with 79,808 suspected cases — at least four times the official tally.

This comes after widespread concerns emerged that Beijing may be suppressing the real impact of the deadly virus. Several web users have claimed to have seen higher death tolls at least twice last month.

While the discourse surrounding the numbers took place on Facebook and Twitter, both the platforms are banned in China. That said, the controversy has also been covered by some major outlets in the country such as Taiwan News

A Chinese health worker checks the temperature of a woman entering a subway station during the Chinese New Year and Spring Festival on January 25, 2020, in Beijing, China. (Getty Images)

"Don't know if this is true, but it is certain that the real figures are higher [than the official ones]," Pincong, a Chinese forum focused on censored topics, said about the controversial figures. "Because the majority of sufferers in Wuhan have sent their pleadings for help through WeChat, accusing hospitals of refusing to admit them after they had been infected."

"[Therefore], these deaths were not counted into the epidemic statistics. This is enough to show how serious the real situation is," they concluded. Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, the Communist Party of China has been repeatedly accused of under-reporting the official figures and going after medics who have attempted to reveal the truth. 

Meanwhile, Chinese tech major Tencent Global has slammed media reports that they published a higher death toll. The "higher death toll" attributed to the ‘Epidemic Situation Tracker’ on its website were based on doctored images, and therefore false, Tencent said. 

Here is their full statement: 

The Tencent News “Epidemic Situation Tracker” reports real-time data from China' s National Health Commission and various Municipal Health Commissions across China.

It is one of several Tencent initiatives, including "Tencent Health" and "Rumour Filter", that keep users informed and up to date on new developments relating to the novel Coronavirus epidemic and check on hearsay versus fact shared by over 170 authoritative information sources across China.

Unfortunately, several social media sources have circulated doctored images of our “Epidemic Situation Tracker” featuring false information which we never published.

Tencent uses technology for good and is disappointed with this type of unscrupulous behavior. Tencent does not condone the dissemination of inaccurate information and fake news especially during this sensitive period.

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