‘Flesh-eating disease’ prophecy causes panic
Panic spread on social media in the Philippines when a TV report misleadingly uncovered a “flesh-eating skin disease” and then linked it to a prophecy made by an Indian holy man.
The Philippines Department of Health has told the BBC that there is no “flesh-eating” bacteria epidemic in Pangasinan province and claims to the contrary are a “hoax”. But fear about a plague there has spread through social media, using the Twitter hashtag #PrayForPangasinan.
Mukul Devichand of BBC Trending has been investigating the truth behind the hashtag.
Source: BBC News
Published: 28 Feb 2014
