Rumor Review
Virus not causing beer drinkers to avoid Corona brand
NO: More than a third of Americans are not avoiding Corona beer because of the current outbreak of COVID-19, the disease caused by a newly identified strain of coronavirus.
YES: A telephone survey of 737 American beer drinkers conducted on Feb. 25 and 26 by 5W Public Relations, a New York City agency, found that 38% of those surveyed (or 280 respondents) “would not buy Corona under any circumstances now.”
NO: A Feb. 27 press release publicizing the survey contains no evidence that the COVID-19 outbreak is the reason that any of those 280 people would not buy Corona beer right now.
YES: The press release also cites an “uptick in searches for ‘corona beer virus’ and ‘beer coronavirus’ over the past few weeks.”
YES: There is a genre of humorous memes that make puns about the virus and beer. Some joke that the beer is an antidote to the virus.
Related:
- “What the Dubious Corona Poll Reveals” (Yascha Mounk, The Atlantic).
- “Corona claps back at claims coronavirus scare will hurt sales” (Josh Noel, Chicago Tribune).
