|
?:reviewBody
|
-
In March 2020, amid the COVID-19 coronavirus disease pandemic, social media users shared a letter believed to have been written by F. Scott Fitzgerald while he was quarantining in the south of France as a result of the 1918 influenza pandemic. The letter began as follows: One post about the letter, apparently assuming it was real, said: But the letter in question was not written by Fitzgerald. It was published on the humor website McSweeney’s on March 13, 2020, and written as a parody by Nick Farriella, who tweeted about how his post had been turned into fake news. The text didn't even mention the year it was written, nor the nature of the virus. But the letter does bring up other notable figures like Zelda Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway: The McSweeney's post now clearly states the following at the top of the piece: The 1918 influenza, also known as the Spanish flu, spread worldwide from 1918 to 1919 and is considered the most severe pandemic in recent history. According to a previous Snopes fact check, many cities in the U.S. closed schools, businesses, and other public spaces, and old newspaper clippings urged social distancing. These actions were largely successful in slowing the spread of the disease.
(en)
|
![[This page as RDF]](http://data.gesis.org/claimskg/static/rdf-icon.gif){kind=icon}