Coronavirus is trending for all the wrong reasons, but that hasn’t stopped some social media users from trying to capitalize on the deadly outbreak with sexy, cute or “funny” posts that make light of the disease.
YouTube star Logan Paul and many other would-be influencers are now facing backlash for trying to turn a deadly virus into viral fame on social media.
Paul was criticized on Wednesday after posting a photo of himself surrounded by models in gas masks on Instagram. The post included the caption: “f**k the corona virus.”
“Logan Paul is the human definition of the coronavirus,” one user tweeted.
Paul was in Miami this week to watch a boxing match involving his brother (and fellow YouTube star), Jake Paul. Jake wore a glittery gas mask before the fight.
The Pauls are just two of a number of people using the coronavirus “trend” to promote themselves on social media. The #coronavirus hashtag is largely populated by actual news about the disease, but mixed in among those stories are memes and many photos of people posing in surgical masks while wearing stylish outfits or revealing clothing.
German Instagram influencer @FitnessOskar has come under fire for posting a photo of himself “kissing” a woman while the two are wearing surgical masks.
Others have turned coronavirus into a joke about Corona beer, which has nothing to do with the outbreak.
“When it’s the weekend but you don’t want the coronavirus,” user @pauldice91 wrote on Instagram Friday, in a post tagged in Saskatoon, Sask.
The post shows a man wearing a surgical mask, sunglasses and latex gloves. He is sitting at a pub with a plate of chicken fingers and a beer — a Corona — in front of him.
Several users have been presenting model-like photos of themselves in posts that offer tips for avoiding the new coronavirus.
The coronavirus outbreak has killed at least 170 people in China and sickened thousands since the infection was first reported in late 2019. Cases of the disease have since been reported in several countries around the globe, including the United States and Canada.
The World Health Organization declared a global emergency due to the outbreak on Thursday.