Wednesday 6 September 2017

Chinese Miner Found Alive After 17 Years Underground Is Fake News

hangela / Pixabay


Reports that a Chinese coal miner was found alive 17 years after getting trapped underground by an earthquake are false. Rumors that a man was rescued nearly two decades after surviving a mining accident stemmed from an entertainment/satire website.


According to Hoax Slayer, the fake claim was first published in 2014 on World News Daily Report, a website known for publishing fake news and outrageous satire, and republished by several disreputable entertainment news websites. The article claimed that 59-year old Cheung Wai survived a record-breaking 17 years underground on an emergency stash of rice and water, in addition to rats and moss. It purported:


A group of coal miners from the western province of Xinjiang, had an unbelievable surprise when the gallery they were excavating opened up on a section of an old mine, that was abandoned 17 years ago after an earthquake that caused some large sections of the tunnels to collapse. While they were exploring the galleries, they stumbled upon Cheung Wai, a 59-year old survivor from the 1997 accident, obviously in a rather bad shape. He was immediately taken to the hospital where a complete evaluation of his physical and mental states will be done over the next weeks.


The poor man had remained trapped underground with the bodies of 78 of his dead coworkers, after an earthquake of a magnitude of 7,8 hit the region and caused the wooden support structure of the mine to crumble and collapse. Somehow lucky in his misfortune, Mr. Cheung was saved by the fact that some ventilation duct still connected his underground prison to the surface, allowing him access to air that was sufficiently pure to keep him alive.


The report is, of course, entirely fabricated. The photo used in the article was actually taken in Tokyo in 2009 and shows Song Mingyuan crying at a memorial service for victims of forced labor. Additionally, World News Daily Report states in their disclaimer that they publish only satire:


WNDR assumes however all responsibility for the satirical nature of its articles and for the fictional nature of their content. All characters appearing in the articles in this website – even those based on real people – are entirely fictional and any resemblance between them and any persons, living, dead, or undead is purely a miracle.


Other fake stories that World News Daily Report has published include a Colorado hunter claiming he was sexually assaulted by a Sasquatch, Vladimir Putin’s former “lover” being found dead in Switzerland and Russian scientists discovering a “cure” for homosexuality. There is no truth to any of these reports.


Here are some examples of people sharing the fake story on social media:


Social Media Shares Fake Story about Chinese Miner Being Found Alive After 17 Years Underground












Have you seen the fake story about the Chinese coal miner being found alive after 17 years underground circulating social media? What are your thoughts on the hoax? Sound off in the comments section below!



Source: B2C
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