Singers Katy Perry, Madonna, and Cheryl all appear to have been tricked, sharing doctored videos on social media of Italians on coronavirus lockdown in their homes singing popular songs from their windows.
Italians on lockdown due to the coronavirus have been singing in their houses from their windows and balconies while the streets bellow remain barren. Many of these moments have been caught on video and shared to social media, where they go viral.
It appears now that pranksters are creating fake video clips of Italians singing hit songs from artists such as Katy Perry, Madonna, and Cheryl — and everyone is falling for it, even the singers themselves.
In one video that surfaced on Twitter on Saturday, Italians appeared to be singing Perry’s popular track “Roar,” which elicited a response from the singer, who shared the video, stating, “You cannot break the human spirit. We are one in this.”
In another video — which appeared to be the same clip, just zoomed out — Madonna was tricked into thinking that Italians on lockdown had been singing her hit song, I Rise.
“Let Us All RISE UP. everyone around the world!!” tweeted the singer, sharing the fake video clip.
In a third clip, Cheryl was made to believe that Italians had been singing her song, Fight for This Love.
“I’m not crying,” tweeted the singer, sharing the video.
The pranksters continued, sharing more videos of the same clip with different songs dubbed over it.
In another prank, a Twitter user shared the same clip, claiming, “A whole neighborhood in Italy is singing ‘Bitch Better Have My Money’ by @Rihanna while they’re on lockdown and self-quarantined.”
The fake video has since garnered over 546,000 “likes” and over 134,000 “retweets.”
Rihanna did not react to the doctored video circulating on Twitter.
In reality, however, the go-to songs for Italians are not those of artists like Katy Perry, Madonna, and Cheryl, as quarantined Italians have chosen songs that are more dear to their hearts during these difficult times — such as well-known, local folk songs that have been around for ages.
In the original video, quarantined Italians — from Naples — were actually singing in support of their soccer team, Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli.
Watch below:
“People like us will never give up,” chant the Italians in unison from their balconies. “Come on Italy! Come on Naples! Forever!”
“Come out on your balconies, out on your balconies,” they add. “The virus that is facing us will not defeat us, the virus that is facing us will not defeat us!”
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.