A happy day, with lots of fun things to do, and then suddenly, you hear that there is a virus spreading around. Well, something similar happened with the Burning Man Festival. People were already out of their homes and were heading towards their destination to attend the festival.
Hundreds of RVs were parked outside the venue, and yet nobody let them enter because of the sudden news. How did things take this turn of events? Let’s find out!
On 3rd September 2023, a social media user shared a tweet about the Ebola outbreak at the Burning Man event. However, later on, the authorities confirmed that there was no such outbreak of any type of virus. Instead, it was reported that the festival’s destination was hit by heavy rain, which caused issues for the attendees.
The Backstory Behind Burning Man Festival
Burning Man festival is known for its cultural events filled with elements like art, self-reliance, and self-expression. The venue for the festival is Black Rock City, which is in the Black Rock Desert, Pershing County, Nevada, USA. It was inaugurated on June 22, 1986, and was founded by the Cacophony Society, Larry Harvey, John Law, and Jerry James.
The event is organized by the ‘Burning Man Project’. Since then, the event has been very significant to the people of the US and every cultural event enthusiast.
The event was named after the culminating ceremony that got symbolic representation from the large burning wooden effigy like a burning man. The festival is held annually, and the festival fire burns for 9 days, including Labor Day. History has a separate section for the records made by the attendees. From 78,850 in 2019 to 20,000 in 2021; people kept turning in to enjoy the cultural nights.
Ebola Outbreak: Rumor or Truth?
The rumors on the ground here are that there's some sort of virus on the loose at Burning Man that causes boils/vomiting/hemorrhaging. Apparently that's why they're not letting people in. No idea if this is true. Been in RV all day.
Source: Am at Burning Man/Black Rock City. https://t.co/abbI3vK8Ha
— TrueAnon (@TrueAnonPod) September 2, 2023On 3rd September 2023, a social media user tweeted something unusual on his X account (formerly known as Twitter). The person updated about the sudden issue with the Burning Man venue by captioning,
“The rumors on the ground here is that there’s some sort of virus on the loose at Burning Man that causes boils/vomiting/hemorrhaging. That’s why they’re not letting people in. No idea if this is true. Been in RV all day.”
Furthermore, many netizens joined in and tweeted something similar. One user even posted a screenshot of the CDC’s tweet, reporting the virus outbreak.
A few users were seen replying to the tweet with memes.
Meanwhile, a few took a few minutes to investigate the truth behind this tweet, and it turns out it was Photoshop trickery.
That's a photoshopped image
— (((Plant Daddy 🇺🇦 🇮🇪))) (@Plant_Daddie) September 3, 2023Burning Man Project revealed that access to the city was closed due to heavy rain on the venue. The sudden rain has disturbed the event’s preparation, and the field is filled with water and mud.
Attendees were sent back to their homes, but a few decided to wait outside the venue. Soon, few turned around into many. In the middle of the ongoing chaos, rumors about the virus outbreak started to circulate through X. But the reality is, no virus attacked the event, rather, it’s the rain that sabotaged it!
Do not travel to Black Rock City! Access to the city is closed for the remainder of the event, and you will be turned around.
— Burning Man Traffic (@bmantraffic) September 2, 2023What are your thoughts on this sudden news? What do you think about the people who fuel rumors with fake information?
Let us know in the comment section.
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