Fake news is spreading about a man who attempted suicide and was sentenced to death in 2018.
Verified account on twitter, including iconic moments (“@image_origins“) tweeted the picture from CNN which claims that the man was sentenced to death after the failed suicide attempt. The tweet was made on Oct 27, 2023. The post went viral and reached to an almost 4.2M views on twitter. The archive can be read from above.
— iconic moments (@image_origins) October 26, 2023
What is the Actual Truth About this Incident? : Fact
The picture used in the claim is, in fact, the mug shot of a man who was arrested in 2017 in the Houston, Texas, area in relation to prostitution.
abc13 published an article on Feb 13, 2017 sharing the same image of the man with the headline “Katy volleyball coach arrested in sex trafficking sting”.
The headline of the news contains a period (full stop). CNN does not use periods to close headlines on its stories.
Additionally, a meme search engine on the internet has this specific image available.
This is a mugshot of Wan Yun, a volleyball coach who was detained in 2017 as part of a sex-trafficking sting operation in Harris County, Texas, as reported on February 12, 2017.
D-Intent’s Fact-Checking Results:
1269
— D-Intent Data (@dintentdata) October 28, 2023
ANALYSIS: Fake
FACT: Fake news is being spread about a man who attempted suicide only to be sentenced to death in 2018. In fact, the claim's image is the mug shot of a man who was arrested in connection with prostitution near Houston, Texas, in 2017. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/hB7XqMiIxR
Intent:
To gain impressions on social media, users share photoshopped images of fake news.
Conclusion:
Claim : There is information circulating regarding a man who attempted suicide and received a death sentence in 2018.
Fact : The man featured on the claim is depicted in the mug shot; he was detained in 2017 in the Houston, Texas, area in relation to prostitution.
