People are swiping right on Tinder to get coronavirus news from Wuhan

By Andrew Paul  |  March 10, 2020 | 5:24pm
Aux Features Coronavirus
People are swiping right on Tinder to get coronavirus news from Wuhan
Photo: Joe Raedle

Perhaps not shockingly, dealing with a pandemic that originated in an authoritarian country with a robust misinformation infrastructure can be a serious pain in the ass. That said, we’re beginning to wonder if we should just stick with whatever the hell they’re telling us right now, because we’re really not a fan of this most recent development in our sci-fi dystopian nightmare world: People are gaming popular dating apps to outsmart China’s censorship and propaganda machines to get real information about COVID-19.

As BuzzFeed details, Tinder Plus and Gold users horny for the truth are switching their locales to Wuhan, China, in an attempt to speak directly with those stuck in the epicenter of our current pandemic outbreak. Despite the app being banned in the country, swipers apparently still have a decent amount of luck matching and talking with Chinese citizens to get the lowdown on how things are truly going over there.

The results? Well, pretty much what you would expect: it ain’t great, but they’re by and large getting through it alright. Also, they’re free Friday evening for dinner, if you’re down.

“I learned the quarantine is not exactly soldiers on every block keeping people in, it’s more like your neighbours will snitch on you if they see you out and about,” @drethelin told BuzzFeed. “But I probably could have learnt that from public sources if I did more research.”

While it probably goes without saying that people’s dating profiles aren’t always the most reliable sources of information, is it really any worse than what’s coming out of the White House these days?

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