A Facebook post suggests millions of people have gone missing as a result of the rapture
The pictures attached in the post give the impression that rapture had occurred while the text accompanying it states otherwise. It is a “premonition” of how the aftermath of the biblical rapture will be captured in the media.
Full text
Messages circulating on social media suggest that the rapture has occurred without many people knowing or noticing. Speculations regarding the post suggest that many Christians have been left behind and are wailing because they did not make the rapture.
The post has, since its publication on May 16th, 2020 generated 467 shares on Facebook and unknown numbers on the WhatsApp platform. It is supported with pictures of three breaking news headlines from CNN, Aljazeera and The BBC.
The text in the post, however, speaks futuristically, stating that the pictures depict what the media space will look like after the rapture occurs.
Reactions to the post were mixed with many outrightly disregarding it and pronouncing it as fake while others expressed belief and fear. Some other Facebook users offered prayers in the comments section to appeal for the forgiveness of sins.
Verification
The first image in the post as seen here is actually a screenshot taken when ABC newsreader Natasha Exelby missed her cue on live television in 2017. This was revealed through a Google Reverse Image Search. This photo’s original version has been edited with CNN’s logo replacing that of ABC.
The second image as seen here is a photofunia effect that can be used to produce breaking news images. The user can insert the channel preference, title, headline, and choose any photo they want to use for producing a breaking news image. This particular effect has been used for many fake news productions as seen in the TinEye Reverse Image Search conducted and in this Facebook post.
The final “breaking news image” showed Senior News presenter for Aljazeera English, Lauren Taylor, with the breaking news headline reading “Millions of Christians Disappear” and a crawler stating that a pastor disappeared during a sermon and that people have gone missing all over the world. This is fake as the original image was taken from an Aljazeera English Live news broadcast on December 25th, 2017 found on YouTube. This was discovered after a Google Reverse Image Search was run on the picture.
Conclusion
The images attached to the circulating post tell a different story from what is being relayed in the textual parts of the post. Furthermore, the pictures attached to the post are all edited to falsely convey a message suggesting that the rapture has occurred.
