Fact Check: Consuming bananas won’t prevent from coronavirus, viral post is fake

New Delhi (Vishvas News): A video going viral on social media claims that “having a banana a day keeps the Coronavirus away.” The video also mentions that the researchers in Queensland university have unearthed the fact. Vishvas News investigated and found the viral post to be fake. The video grabs are taken from different unrelated videos and there is no authentic report claiming that coronavirus can be prevented by consuming bananas.

Claim

A video shared on Facebook claims that “having a banana a day keeps the Coronavirus away.” The video also mentions that the researchers in Queensland university have unearthed the fact.

The archived version of the post can be checked here.

Investigation

Vishvas News investigated the video using InVID tool. We found that the viral video is made by combining two different unrelated videos. The video grabs are taken from ABC Australia and Wall Street Journal.

We further researched whether bananas can keep coronavirus away. We did not find any authentic report claiming that coronavirus can be prevented by consuming bananas. In the viral video, the reference to the researchers in Queensland University is also made. We found that the portion of the video that shows the researchers in Queensland University have been picked up from other reports.

No doubt, banana fruit is nutritious and has good amount of fibre and antioxidants and is also a source of Vitamins and minerals but it cannot prevent from COVID-19 as claimed in the viral post.

Vishvas News contacted Dr. Anant Parashar, General Physician from Pushpanjali Hospitals and who is also an expert in treating COVID-19 cases. He said: “Bananas are good source of energy and is also rich in nutrients. But, it is no prevention or cure for COVID-19.”

The post is shared on Facebook by a page named Take Agro. The page is followed by 4620 people.