Fact Check: Video of man committing suicide due to COVID-19 in NYC proved to be fake

Since the Coronavirus pandemic has started spreading all around the world, there has been a lot of fake news and fear being shared across all social media. One of the most recent rumours that sprang up on Facebook as well as on Twitter is of a man jumping off a building due to coronavirus. The video is not only disturbing to watch, but people are sharing it forward and talking about how coronavirus can affect a person mentally as well. 

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Claim:

People have been sharing a video in which a person can be seen jumping off a tall building. The messages claim this video is from Brooklyn, New York and that the man jumped because he was mentally depressed due to coronavirus. Some other claims talk about how he committed suicide because his family members passed away due to coronavirus. 

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Rating: Fake

The claims made by these social media posts are fake. The video can be traced back to a post on Facebook made in 2015. The post claims that the video is of a pregnant Ghanian woman committing suicide after she came to know that her husband is cheating on her. While two suicides in New York were reported on March 21 and March 30 each, this video is not the same news as the two either. 

The video is from 2015 of a woman committing suicide

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Origin: 

A video circulating around social media, on Facebook as well as Twitter, became news that says that the man jumps off a building in New York. But, the video is from 2015 of a Ghanian woman committing suicide. The woman reportedly came to know that her husband has been cheating on her.

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Although this information turned out to be fake, it was confused by many with some real news. As per an article on a news agency, a 57-year-old man committed suicide from a building from Central Park West building. It is unclear whether the reason behind his suicide is related to the coronavirus pandemic. Another suicide news came from Manhattan as a man jumped off a building's 16th floor. A neighbour claimed the reason to be isolation during coronavirus pandemic. It is unfortunate to see that the impact of coronavirus in not only physical but also mental as well. 

Google Trends Analytics

A lot of people tried to search for the news and the video online. As per Google Trends, the searches spiked on April 1, 2020, around 3.30 PM. The searches saw a peak on April 2, 2020, at 3.30 AM in the morning. Here are the related searches on Google:

In times like these, it is very important to take care of oneself as well as the members of your family. It is important to get the right information about the COVID-19 crisis so that there is no unwanted panic. Keep away from any negative news if anyone in your family is responding badly to it. 

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