A 2019 clip from the show “Project Runway,” with a face mask and a designer named Kovid, is proof that the COVID-19 pandemic was a…
A 2019 “Project Runway” episode isn’t evidence for a COVID-19 conspiracy
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Kovid Kapoor, a contestant on "Project Runway," a fashion design competition television show, said in an interview that he used a face mask as part of his 2019 design in reference to air pollution.
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Kapoor’s first name, Kovid, is a Hindi name meaning "scholar or learned person."
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Claims that government leaders and those in power planned the COVID-19 pandemic have persisted since 2020; there is no credible evidence to back the claims.
A 2019 “Project Runway” episode that aired before the COVID-19 pandemic’s 2020 start featured a model wearing a face mask and an outfit designed by a contestant named Kovid Kapoor.
Social media users are claiming the episode is proof the pandemic was planned.
A June 30 Instagram post featuring footage from the show included text that read, “4/4/19 — 9 months prior to fake covid being rolled out. TV show ‘Project Runway’ had a model wearing a mask named ‘Kovid Kapoor.’” (The post incorrectly said that was the model’s name; it was the designer’s name.)
The Instagram post’s caption reads, “Proof of the hoax … right here. You’re in serious denial if you think this is a coincidence.”
Social media users chimed in, with one person commenting, “Convid scamdemic. There are people out here still buying into it.”
This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)
(Screenshot from Instagram)
The footage first gained traction in 2020 on TikTok. Although the clip is authentic, it’s not evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic is a hoax — or that the pandemic was planned. Claims that government leaders and people in power planned the COVID-19 pandemic have persisted since 2020; there is no credible evidence to back the claims.
The footage is from the fourth episode of “Project Runway’s” 17th season, titled “Survive in Style.” Designers were tasked with creating “survival chic” looks, and Kapoor told Reuters in 2020 that he was inspired by “issues of pollution.”
Face masks were common in Asia before the COVID-19 pandemic began. In January, Kapoor told The Sun, a British newspaper, that he took inspiration from his native country, India, where “a lot of people wear masks” because “pollution is so high.” The story ran in The Sun’s U.S. edition.
“I had no idea (COVID-19) was going to happen,” the designer added.
Kapoor’s first name, Kovid, is a Hindi name meaning “scholar or learned person,” and it’s unrelated to the pandemic.
We rate the claim that a 2019 clip from the show “Project Runway,” is proof that the COVID-19 pandemic was a hoax False.
Our Sources
Instagram post, July 1, 2024
Kovidlab.com, about Kovid Kapoor, accessed July 2, 2024
TikTok post, November 29, 2020
IMBD, Survive in Style, April 4, 2019
Reuters, "Fact check: Project Runway mask outfit by designer named Kovid is not evidence of ‘predictive programming,’" December 4, 2020
Voice of America, "Not Just Coronavirus: Asians Have Worn Face Masks for Decades," March 11, 2020
The Sun, "'I ignore it' Project Runway’s Kovid Kapoor slams ‘crazy’ conspiracy theories designer ‘predicted’ Covid and reveals big career move," January 8, 2024
The Washington Post, "Meet the Kovids. These people share the same name as the covid-19 pandemic," January 9, 2022
PolitiFact, "Four years after shelter-in-place, COVID-19 misinformation persists," March 15, 2024
