Truth behind ‘Pope Francis has coronavirus’ report: Anatomy of fake news

HEADLINE STATES: "Vatican confirms Pope Francis and two aides test positive for Coronavirus - MCM". Users on social media only saw this title. An item about the fake news was carried by hoax-alert.com, [https://bit.ly/38hV9kZ], signatory to the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) at Poynter Institute, a non-profit journalism school and research organization based in Florida.

ANATOMY OF FAKE NEWS: A screengrab shared on Facebook of the fake story. It has been shared and liked thousands of times, according to social media analytics tool Crowdtangle. The site www.mcmnt.com has been blocked in the UAE.

VIRAL: The article, posted on a website called MCM News on Saturday, February 29, pointed out how Pope Francis missed a planned mass in Rome after showing "coronavirus-like" symptoms and added that the pope and 2 his aides were quarantined and were receiving medical attention near Santa Marta, where the pontiff resides. According to the social monitoring tool Crowdtangle, the article was shared on Facebook 123 times and acquired 6,881 interactions. The Vatican has denied on Monday (March 2, 2020) reports that Pope Francis contracted the novel coronavirus.

WHO'S BEHIND IT? According to WHOIS data [https://bit.ly/2TxCg8n], the website mcmnt.com behind the hoax was only re-registered a few days ago (February 26, 2020), with a registrant's contact based in Panama. The MCMNT News site does not carry information about who is behind it on an "About" or "Contact" page.

DOMAIN REGISTRATION: The "MCM News" web domain was registered in 2016 by a domain squatter in China, according to Cindy Otis, author of the book ‘TRUE OR FALSE: A CIA Analyst's Guide to Spotting Fake News’. [Source: https://bit.ly/32LI2qY]. The registration was changed a few days ago (on February 26, 2020), with Panama given as the new registrant's address.

Maarten Schenk, resident expert on fake news and hoax websites from hoax-alert.leadstories.com took this screengrab showing the number of likes on the story over time.

REGISTRY: Domain name and other domain-related information on mcmnt.com.

SPECULATION: On February 29, 2020, British mid-market tabloid 'The Express' ran with the headline: "Pontiff cancels engagements for the third day in coronavirus-hit Italy"

THIS TRIGGERED MUCH SPECULATION: Pope Francis wipes his nose during the Ash Wednesday mass which opens Lent, the forty-day period of abstinence and deprivation for Christians before Holy Week and Easter, on February 26, 2020, at the Santa Sabina church in Rome. Pope Francis postponed his official appointments on February 28 and was working from home, the Vatican said, a day after cancelling a scheduled appearance at mass because of "a mild ailment". Francis, 83, had appeared earlier in the week to be suffering from a cold. He was seen blowing his nose and coughing during the Ash Wednesday service, and his voice sounded hoarse.

"SLIGHT INDISPOSITION": Pope Francis, 83, on Sunday (March 1, 2020) made his first public appearance in four days following what the Vatican has called a "slight indisposition" that forced him to cancel some audiences and activities. The Roman Catholic leader appeared at the window of the Vatican's Apostolic Palace to address thousands of people in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican, Rome, Italy.

COUGHING: Pope Francis coughs as he leads the weekly Angelus prayer in St Peter's Square at the Vatican, March 1, 2020. Francis canceled a Lent retreat for the first time in his papacy because he is suffering from a cold. He has tested negative for coronavirus, the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero reported on Tuesday, March 3, 2020, also reported by Reuters. Source: https://bit.ly/38iXQ5F