Screenshot from viral online video where man licked his finger and wiped it on a train handrail.
A video of a man licking his finger and then wiping it onto the handrails of an MTR train went viral and sparked online outrage, March 18.
Amid the #coronavirus pandemic, this video of a man licking his finger and wiping it onto an MTR handrail has gone viral. #Covid19 Video: Joel Werner pic.twitter.com/9nOCwFn1v4 — SCMP Hong Kong (@SCMPHongKong) March 18, 2020
Joel Werner, a hedge fund manager based in Hong Kong, admitted that he was the man on the video that was shared on social networking sites tens of thousands of times. However, within his admission, he clarified that the video was meant as a parody to educate friends about spreading "fake news" amid the COVID-19 pandemic. His experiment, however, backfired badly as it attracted the ire of social media users, as netizens condemned his irresponsible behaviors.
How the 'parody' went viral and caused outrage
In his interview with South China Morning Post, Werner who is the chief investment officer of an Asia-focused hedge fund based in Hong Kong, Solitude Capital Management insisted that he did not actually lick his fingers before putting it on the rails and that there is a second video that shows him disinfecting the handrails.
The man in the viral video insists he did not actually lick his finger as this second video shows him disinfecting the same MTR handrail. Video: Joel Werner pic.twitter.com/3VGo5DvXfy — SCMP Hong Kong (@SCMPHongKong) March 18, 2020
He also added that the negative comments and rage from online users terrified him since it might affect his job.Werner's actions did not only cause outrage online but also prompted the MTR corporation to reprimand him for his actions and eventually file a police report.
According to Werner, the video was not initially intended to be posted in public. After saying how much he regretted the incident, he revealed that he initially sent two clips to a private WhatsApp group with his friends. The first clip showed him appearing to lick his fingers and wipe them on the rails, and a second clip that didn't go viral where he disinfected the handrail.
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He further added that someone in their group chat was not able to see the second video and failed to realize that it was him on the video. This someone also forwarded the video to the police thinking that the incident was real.
Moreover, Werner said that after seeing the video go viral online, he repeatedly contacted the police and explained the situation. He said that he informed them that after what happened in the video, he immediately disinfected the handrail with alcohol gel, but he claimed that the police could not care less about his explanations.
Werner's apology
In his apology, the Hong Kong resident indicated that he had no idea that the video has made it to Facebook. He further added that if there is anything that he was not apologizing to make light of the situation, rather he insisted on the seriousness of the situation due to the misinformation that is being passed around.
He also addressed a formal message to the people of Hong Kong, where he reiterated that he used hand sanitizer before and after touching the pole, however, he still apologized to everyone that was offended by the video that he made, regardless of his intentions.
He ended the statement that he understands the ire of the everyone and that a global pandemic is not something to laugh about.
The World Health Organization has already warned about the possibility of the virus being transmitted in surfaces which got infected by droplets. There is no information yet on how long the virus stays on surfaces since it may be for a few hours or several days depending on the conditions.
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