Swallows and Capistrano Probably Still OK

But some of the "nature reclaiming its own during quarantine" photos aren't. The dolphins in a well-known photo are in Sardinia, not Venice. The swans frequently hang around a Venetian island and aren't back just because there are no boats in the canals.

Of course, as Natasha Daly notes in the National Geographic article, the waters in the canals are clearer because of the reduced activity. But that mainly means you can see the fish that live there most of the time anyway.

Daly also links to Paolo Ordoveza, a man who runs a Twitter account called "PicPedant" that debunks incredible photos that turn out to be made up. Ordoveza also corrects people who claim to have taken photos that are real but which were actually shot by someone else, leading to the possibility that we may be close to finding the first worthwhile account ever on Twitter.