A screenshot of a Canadian national news broadcast contains text suggesting that Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer has told Canadians to “practice holding their breath for extended periods of time” as a way to protect oneself from contracting COVID-19.
After reviewing CTV’s coverage of the press conference on November 3, there is no evidence that CTV posted the text in the screenshot, therefore indicating that the text had been later altered with disinformation. The screenshot could be defined as a “cheapfake”.
The image has also been shared on Instagram over the past few days.
Health Canada has also confirmed in an email to DisinfoWatch that “Dr. Tam never, on that day or any other day, advised Canadians to try to hold their breath in response to COVID”
Screenshot of the altered CTV newscast image.
Photo that was shared on Instagram using the “cheapfake” of Dr. Tam’s press conference on CTV news
Screenshot from CTV’s actual press conference on November 3, 2020. Note that the line beloe “GOVERNMENT UPDATE ON COVID-19” is different from the image in the screenshot.
