Thread by @Observers

[thread]
"Chinese people eating #batsoup"... You've probably seen some of these videos that have flooded social networks since the outbreak of the #coronavirus epidemic in China, with caption suggesting that eating bats was a cause of the virus. We fact-checked seven videos...

First off, we talked to several experts in Chinese cuisine. They all agreed: there is no tradition of eating bats in Chinese culture. It's generally seen as disgusting, in #Wuhan and elsewhere in #China.

Video #1: This video does indeed show a Chinese woman eating a bat - not in #Wuhan, but 3,000 km away in the Pacific nation #Palau. She's a well-known influencer on the Chinese network Weibo, who said she filmed the video in 2016 as part of a travel show.

In case you're wondering, Palau is here:

Video #2: This video shows a woman whose profile on #Douyin (the version of Tik Tok available in China) describes her as a 22-year-old student at #Wuhan University.

She said she made the video "over the summer," but didn't say where. She is wearing summer clothing in the video, and the dish is typical of #Palau - but it's impossible to confirm whether she was there.

Video #3: This video showing a bat in a bowl of broth had the caption "sold in #Wuhan market". But not so fast...

A restaurant manager in #Palau told us he recognised the restaurant in the video, and said it was in Palau (though not his). Details in the video - the pattern on the plates, the shape of the table - are consistent with photos posted by other tourists visiting Palau.

Video #4: This video shows a man eating bat soup. It was posted on Instagram by the "coronavirusdaily" account, with the caption: "bat restaurant in #Wuhan".

Details of the decoration match photos posted by tourists visting #Palau, indicating that the video was also filmed there.

Video #5: This video showing a Filipino couple eating bat soup was posted on #Youtube with the caption "Filipinos eating bat soup in WUHAN and they might get infected". In fact they made the video in Palau as well, and posted it in July 2019.

Video #6: Is this really the bat meat section of the #Wuhan market? A reverse image search shows that it is in fact a market in Manado, #Indonesia.

Video #7: This one supposedly shows a visit to the Wuhan market, with dogs, snakes, rats and bat kebabs being sold. But the text on screen at the beginning of the video makes it clear that it was filmed at a market in Langowan, also in #Indonesia.

To find the full explanations of the different videos, read this article:

observers.france24.com/en/20200203-ch…

And this one:
observers.france24.com/en/20200204-ch…