Old video shared online ‘predicting’ COVID-19’s fourth wave in 2025 fake

PTI, Dec 26, 2024, 6:06 PM IST

covid 19 (istock)

New Delhi: A purported video of a news report “predicting” the fourth wave of COVID-19 in January 2025 has been recently shared by several social media users. The video shows a news anchor warning people to remain alert for the next 40 days, claiming a spike in cases in East Asia.

However, a PTI Fact Check investigation found the claim to be false. The video clip actually dates back to 2022.

On December 17, a Facebook user shared the video with the caption, “Be careful in the new year 2025, the threat of Corona is coming again, thousands of people are dying every day in China.” The video quickly gained traction with many other users sharing the clip with the same claim believing it to be recent.

Using a keyword search on Google, PTI Fact Check found no credible reports supporting the claim.

Further, upon checking the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s official website, it revealed that there are only 11 active COVID-19 cases in India. The website also made no mention of a fourth wave or any spike in cases.

PTI also contacted Syed Suhail, the news anchor featured in the video, who confirmed that the clip was from 2022.

He explained, “This information was based on reports from 2022. No such report has surfaced recently.” During the investigation, Professor Suneet Kumar Singh, Director of the Dr. BR Ambedkar Biomedical Research Center (ACBR), was also contacted who said that there is no alert regarding a fourth wave of COVID-19 in 2025. He added that there is absolutely no need to panic and the situation will remain normal in 2025, as it is in 2024.

PTI Fact Check conclusively debunked the claim establishing that the news report in video clip was from 2022 and it was falsely presented as a recent report “predicting” a fourth wave of COVID-19 in India for January 2025.