Image does not show man queuing up for COVID-19 test in Guangzhou, but Taiwan Pride Parade 2022

 

Screenshot of the tweet.

 

News Brief

A photo shared Nov. 4, 2022, on Twitter, claims to show a man wearing only a transparent raincoat while queuing up for a COVID-19 test in Guangzhou. The caption, written in simplified Chinese, translates as, “A man was queuing up for a COVID-19 nucleic acid test in Guangzhou in his ‘emperor’s new clothes.’”

As of the publication of this report, the tweet had been retweeted 252 times, 37 times with quote, and had received 2,090 likes.

Fact-checking

A reverse image search has found a post published Oct. 31, 2022, on the Taiwan’s online discussion forum PTT, titled “Hottest outfits in this year’s gay parade (Caution! Multiple photos will be shown.)” One of the photos in this post corresponds in many details to the photo shared on Twitter.

Comparison between the photo posted on the Taiwan’s discussion forum PTT (left) and the photo shared on Twitter (right).

Further keyword searches have resulted in a news article published Oct. 29, 2022, by the Taiwan’s Next Apple News, titled “Marching in Gay Parade despite rain! Naked man in transparent raincoat shouting, ‘Nudity is not pornography. What really matters is how you look at it.’” A comparison shows that the man appearing at the 30-second mark in the news report video and the man wearing the transparent raincoat shown in the viral photo are the same person.

According to the official Facebook page of the Taiwan Pride Parade, it is currently the largest gay pride parade in East Asia. The Taiwan Pride Parade 2022 was held at Taipei City Hall Plaza on Oct. 29.

The man appearing in the news report published by Taiwan’s Next Apple News.

A search on Google Maps has revealed that a building on Ren’ai Road near the Taipei City Hall has the same characteristics, including color, exterior walls, and window style, as those of the building shown in the viral photo. Therefore, both of them show the same location. The building near the Taipei City Hall is called Zhongshan Ren’ai Building, located at the junction of section 4 of Ren’ai Road and Guangfu south road in Taipei City. According to Google Maps, the building is about 650 meters away from Taipei City Hall Plaza. The man was standing in a crowd near the building when the photo was taken.

Comparison between the Google Street View of the building near Taipei City Hall Plaza and the building shown in the viral photo.