Update: Information about the primary source was added to the article. The primary source is satirical, based on fictional events.
On October 28, Newsposts.ge, an online news agency, published an article headlined “Death of a man after fatal bear attack was ascribed to coronavirus.” The article reads that Bernard Russell, 67, was attacked and killed by a bear in Alaska, when he was hiking near his home. According to the article, a forensic medical examination found that the victim was infected with COVID-19 and he was added to the list of deaths from COVID-19. The news agency refers to Anchorage Herald as its source. The article is also accompanied by the photos depicting a man and a bear.
Later the same day, identical information was published by metronome.ge.
Reports by Newsposts.ge and metronome.ge as if a fatal bear attack had been ascribed to coronavirus deaths are fabricated and cannot be searched in other media outlets. The photo accompanying the article depicts not Bernard Russel, but 67-year-old Eugene Fulk, who was missing in Canada for 10 days.
Who is the man depicted in the photo?
According to RevEye, the image search engine, the man whose photo was used in the article along with a bear picture is not Bernard Russel, but rather 67-year-old Eugene Fulk who went missing in Canada on June 13, 2020. Local police asked for public assistance in finding the man and the relevant information was published in Canadian media and police statements. On June 23, local Innisfail police in Alberta province announced that Eugene Fulk had been located and was safe and unharmed.
As for Anchorage Herald, no media outlet with this name can be searched. Moreover, the information as if a fatal bear attack had been ascribed to COVID-19 deaths cannot be searched either.
On September 24, a media outlet with a similar name – news-herald.com – published an article, according to which a 22-year-old hunter from Ohio was killed by a grizzly bear in Alaska. The coronavirus was not even mentioned by the article.
