A rumor that helicopters would spray disinfectant to kill the new coronavirus in Italy made its way across social networks and messaging platforms before mutating into varying informational strains around the globe. Beyond Italy, which first experienced the rumor on March 10, the DFRLab confirmed its spread to more than 30 other countries over the course of two weeks — a classic but unfortunate example of how the current infodemic of COVID-19 misinformation spreads alongside the virus itself.

Broadly speaking, the ongoing infodemic is rapidly evolving. In March 2020, a prominent Georgian doctor amplified a forged quote attributed to a pro-democracy activist claiming he was happy that the elderly would die from the virus. Meanwhile in Ukraine, rumors spread through Telegram channels suggesting that smoking offered resistance to COVID-19.

The notion of conducting aerial chemical spraying to combat disease outbreaks is not without precedent. Previously, aerial spraying was used to kill mosquitos in Miami during the zika outbreak while China used drones to spray disinfectants in populated areas due to COVID-19. Instances such as these added a certain amount of plausibility to this particular rumor.

While the DFRLab could not determine the original source of the rumor, we tracked its spread across dozens of countries. The analysis utilized open-source information to deduce how the rumor mutated and track its global movements.

GIF showing a timeline of the rumor appearing in Italy then spreading worldwide. (Source: @nikaaleksejeva/DFRLab)

Evolution of a rumor

Based on a review of social media platforms, the rumor most likely first appeared in Italy on March 10. On that date, Facebook users shared screenshots of forwarded WhatsApp messages containing the rumor. “From 23:00 tonight until 05:00 tomorrow morning, a helicopter will disinfect everything,” the message stated in Italian. “I recommend you not to leave clothes, shoes and other things outside and especially take care of dogs!”

The following day, the same information appeared in Georgia as an image shared on Facebook. By this point, the text of the message had mutated slightly. While the Italian version asked people “not to leave clothes, shoes and other things outside and especially take care of dogs,” the Georgian language version asked them “not to leave laundry outside and not going outside themselves,” omitting the part about the shoes and the dogs.

Text on the image translated from Georgian: “Today from 11:00 pm until 5:00 am tomorrow morning, helicopters will spray disinfectant in the air. Do not leave your laundry outside and of course do not go outside.” (Source: Mari Bedinadze Abashidze/archive)

Meanwhile, Russian-language versions of the message posted in Moldova on March 14 and in Uzbekistan on March 16 were identical to each other, with the Moldova version containing an additional sign-off wishing readers good health.