Daniel Radcliffe was the victim of a cruel trick that wasn’t in one of his “Harry Potter” movies.
A fake tweet that hijacked the BBC name on Tuesday reported that the actor had contracted coronavirus, making him “the first famous person to be publicly confirmed.”
Radcliffe’s reps told the New York Post the claim was “not true.”
As was the Twitter account “BBC Breaking News,” from which the false tweet emanated. A New York Times reporter retweeted the hoax and later apologized for the “confusion.”
“BREAKING: Daniel Radcliffe tests positive for coronavirus,” the phony tweet read. “The actor is said to be the first famous person to be publicly confirmed.”
Twitter suspended the account, which had just 125 followers, for “platform manipulation,” BuzzFeed reported.
According to BuzzFeed, here’s how the group that appeared to be responsible for the tweet explained it: “They said it was funny, that they were manipulating people’s minds, and that the internet was lowering people’s IQ.”
The coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19, has now infected more than 121,000 people and killed at least 4,300.