Unsurprisingly, articles debunking the story have not traveled nearly as far on social media as the original versions did. The coronavirus epidemic in China surpassed a grim milestone last week with a death toll that exceeds that of the SARS outbreak 17 years ago. Half of the top 10 most shared English-language links about coronavirus on Facebook from the month of January were hyperbolic, fear-mongering and at times blatantly misleading articles from actual news outlets. Japanese health workers have begun screening 273 people who displayed symptoms or came into close contact with the infected man.