Post falsely claims single man booked out Shanghai cinema to spite couples on Valentine’s Day

A photo has been shared on Facebook in Nigeria with a claim that it shows a single man who booked all the seats in a Shanghai cinema to prevent couples from sitting together on Valentine’s Day. But this is false: the image was taken in a Beijing cinema on July 24, 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic when the number of moviegoers was restricted to keep social distance protocol in place at the time.

“A Single man in china was so fed up that he booked every other seat at a Shanghai cinema to prevents couples sitting together on February 14 (sic),” reads a Facebook post, which has gathered more than 400 shares since it was published on May 26, 2023.

The picture features a man wearing a face mask inside a cinema. A few other masked cinemagoers can be seen but most of the seats between them are empty.

The claim also appeared elsewhere on Facebook, including here, here and here.

Comments below the post suggested that online users took the claim seriously.

A screenshot showing comments on the false post, taken on June 3, 2023

The claim, though, is false.

Social distancing

Using a reverse image search, AFP Fact Check found the original picture in the online database of the Associated Press news agency.

The image caption (archived here) says it shows moviegoers inside a theatre in Beijing, China on July 24, 2020.

“A movie theater restarts in Beijing, China on July 24, 2020, amid continuing worries over the new coronavirus COVID-19. The number of seats is restricted with 30% of the normal number to keep the social distance,” it reads.

Screenshot of original picture as found in AP archives, taken on June 7, 2023

Movie theatres in Beijing were shut (archive here) in January 2020 following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. They reopened partially a few months later (archived here) as the number of cases receded.