The ‘Coronavirus Arrest’ That Wasn’t

See what Snopes.com is debunking today. [Web Version]( February 19, 2020 Daily Debunker The ‘Coronavirus Arrest’ That Wasn’t The January announcement of the arrest of Harvard professor Charles Lieber for making false statements to federal authorities about funding from China sparked a new round of conspiracy theories about the origin of the new coronavirus. Riffing on the fact that the funding allegedly came from a university in Wuhan, China — the city where the coronavirus was first detected — social media posts insinuated a connection between Lieber’s work and the virus’s sudden appearance. Some of the posts even described the coronavirus as a lab-made “bioweapon.” As Snopes.com’s Dan Evon painstakingly demonstrates, almost nothing in this conspiracist narrative matches the known facts. [Read more]( Fact Checks No, This Alaska Airlines ‘Anniversary Offer’ Is Not Real The airline is not celebrating its anniversary in February 2020 with a ticket giveaway. [Scam]( Was Coronavirus Predicted in a 1981 Dean Koontz Novel? If a prediction is only noticed after an incident occurs, is it really a prediction? [Mostly false]( Did Mike Bloomberg Say ‘Anybody Can Be a Farmer,’ Tech Work Requires ‘More Gray Matter’? South Dakota's Republican governor accused the 2020 presidential candidate of "pompous ignorance" for remarks he made in 2016. [Correct attribution]( Did Bloomberg Buy Trump’s Debt? A routine review of content labeled satire. [Labeled satire]( A Tale Of Celebrities, Hookup Sites, and a Space Start-up The latest Snopes Dive Team investigation uncovers a tangled web of internet sleaze. [Read]( In the News China’s Official Newspaper Mislabels Video Footage in Coronavirus Coverage A People's Daily video claiming to show "full-front disinfection work" in Wuhan included footage taken at an airport in Taiwan. [Read more]( President Trump Goes on Clemency Spree, and the List Is Long President Donald Trump went on a clemency blitz, commuting former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's 14-year prison sentence and pardoning former New York City police commissioner Bernie Kerik, among a long list of others. [Read more]( Player Discipline Possible for Future Sign-Stealing Offenses Major league players could be punished for future sign-stealing violations in the wake of the Houston Astros' scandal that only resulted in discipline for managers, coaches and executives. [Read more]( Reports: Rapper Pop Smoke Slain in Hollywood Hills Shooting An up-and-coming rapper known as Pop Smoke was fatally shot during a break-in at a Hollywood Hills home. [Read more]( Passengers Begin Leaving After Ship’s Virus Quarantine Ends About 500 passengers left the cruise ship Diamond Princess at the end of a much-criticized two-week quarantine aboard the vessel, docked in Japan, that failed to stop the spread of the new virus among passengers and crew. [Read more]( Staff Pick Edward Mordrake, the Man with Two Faces Was a nineteenth-century Englishman named Edward Mordake (or Mordrake) born with a malevolent "second face" on the back of his head? [Read more]( Snopes Media Group Inc. 864 Grand Ave #256 San Diego, CA 92109 © 1994-2020 by Snopes Media Group Inc. This material may not be reproduced without permission. Snopes and the Snopes.com logo are registered service marks of Snopes Media Group. [Manage Preferences]( [Unsubscribe](