HIV from Bananas? Why fake news isn't just a prank

It seems that fake news is, shall we say, in the news.  And today, I want to talk about a piece of fake news that really bothered me.  And no, this isn't about Trump, though we can have some lengthy discussions about that man as well.  This is about bananas.

About a month ago, someone posted an article on facebook about how eight children had contracted HIV from bananas at Walmart.  What's worse, someone posted this on a facebook group for scientists.  

Immediately, I knew that this was a prank.  How?  Because HIV can't be transmitted by eating a banana.  And because HIV is a virus that infects primate cells, bananas don't get HIV.  But it's just a prank, right?  Anyone who believes it is stupid, right?

Wrong.  And I'm not talking about the possible hit to Walmart's public image, because let's be honest, Walmart having bad produce isn't really news.  I'm talking about HIV knowledge.  I wasn't born for this, but my understanding is that in the 80s there were a lot of problems with people believing that HIV was transmitted by oral contact.  In fact, a lot of children with HIV were banned from going to their local schools.  Ryan White had to bring his own individually-wrapped silverware to school.

We finally have got the public to understand, for the most part, that HIV is NOT transmitted by oral contact.  So, someone pops this one in there.  Great.

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