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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

Was a video of a 'corpse' smoking made as a commentary on the impact of COVID-19?

By Sarah Thompson
NO

A video clip was shot during the filming of a music video by a Siberian artist in Moscow. The behind-the-scenes clip does show an actor wrapped in black plastic smoking a cigarette as crew members arrange other plastic-wrapped human forms for a scene in the video.

Claims surrounding various clips of the mysterious plastic-wrapped bodies have been circulating on social media since September 2020 and have surfaced again. One post's caption included: "Covid bodies...one of the dead bodies is smoking a cigarette. Are you awake, yet?"

But the music video is not about COVID-19. The music and story are illustrated with scenes of a janitor cleaning up the aftermath of a fictional gun battle. The behind-the-scenes shot of one participant smoking while wrapped in an apparent body bag is merely an outtake from the music video.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Lead Stories is a fact checking and debunking website at the intersection of big data and journalism that launched in 2015. It scouts for trending stories, images, videos and posts that contain false information in order to fact check them as quickly as possible. It actively monitors the fake-news ecosystem and doesn’t wait for reader tips or reports before getting started on a story.
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