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Did Pentagon Just Get Hit By A Large Explosion?!

Was the Pentagon just hit by a large explosion?! Take a look at the viral photo, and find out what the facts really are!

Claim : Pentagon Was Just Hit By A Large Explosion!

A photo of an explosion at the Pentagon has gone viral on social media, with multiple “blue check” Twitter accounts, an Indian media outlet and Russian state media sharing it!

RT : Reports of an explosion near the Pentagon in Washington DC

Bloomberg Feed : Large Explosion near The Pentagon Complex in Washington D.C. – Initial Report

⚠️BREAKING – Initial Reports of a Large Explosion near The Pentagon Complex in Washington D.C.
A Fire is currently Burning at the Location of the Blast with Fire and Rescue Crews arriving On-Scene.

Initial Reports of a Large Explosion near The #Pentagon Complex in #Washington D.C.
A Fire is currently Burning at the Location of the Blast with Fire and Rescue Crews arriving On-Scene.

Truth : Pentagon Was Not Hit By A Large Explosion!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created using AI technology, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : There Was No Pentagon Explosion

First, let me just confirmed that there was no explosion at the Pentagon yesterday or today. The Pentagon did not come under attack, as many people have claimed.

For one thing – no legitimate media outlet has reported on such an explosion. No, propaganda outlets like Russia Today (RT) do not count.

This incident has shown just how unreliable RT really is – it was the only state media agency to post the fake photo. RT deleted the photo hours later, but did not appear to apologise for the “mistake”.

Furthermore, police and fire officials in Arlington, Virgina, have confirmed that the viral photo is fake, and that there was no incident at the Pentagon. No explosion. No fire. No smoke.

@PFPAOfficial and the ACFD are aware of a social media report circulating online about an explosion near the Pentagon.

There is NO explosion or incident taking place at or near the Pentagon reservation, and there is no immediate danger or hazards to the public.

Fact #2 : That Is Not The Pentagon

Anyone who has seen the facade / side profile of the Pentagon will immediately realise that the photo does not show the famous building.

The fake building looks like like a university than the Pentagon, which has a flat, sloping roof without a triangular Gable roof.

The facade of the Pentagon is also almost flat and uniform, with uniform, same-sized windows throughout.

Fact #3 : The Photo Was AI Generated

The viral photo appears to be created using an AI image generator. If you look closely at the photo, you will see many discrepancies that suggest it was AI-generated:

The facade of the building is distorted, with some windows merging together.
The fence suddenly turns into crowd barriers, both of which have distortions with holes too.
The lamp post appears to be distorted and cut off from its base, literally floating sideways.

Not shown below, but the concrete walkway also gradually fades into grass, which is another sign it was AI-generated.

Fact #4 : Twitter Blue + Gold Accounts Helped Spread Fake Photo!

It is important to point out that while this viral photo tricked many people into thinking it was real, it was the new Twitter Blue and Twitter Gold accounts that helped it go viral.

The photo went viral because multiple Twitter Blue accounts shared the fake photo. Because many people still believe that blue check Twitter accounts are “verified” and therefore trustworthy, they shared it out too.

Elon Musk is responsible for this debacle, by allowing any Tom, Dick and Harry to purchase a blue check to masquerade as a “verified” Twitter account. That was how the fake Bloomberg Feed account was able to trick so many people to share this fake photo.

On top of that, Russian state media – RT (Russia Today) boosted the fake photo by reposting it on its Twitter Gold account, which is a paid and verified account. Even though RT finally deleted the tweet hours later, more than 38,000 people had already viewed the post, and many shared it because they believed RT verified the news.

Fact #5 : Indian News Channel Helped Spread Fake Photo

It also did not help that Republic TV – a right-wing, English language news channel in India, broadcasted a “Live & Breaking” news of the Pentagon explosion using nothing more than that fake photo!

To top it off, they even invited Professor Madhav Nalapat – “an international affairs expert” to opine on the fake explosion!

To be fair – Republic TV relied on RT to verify that news, with a chyron saying, “RT REPORTS EXPLOSION NEAR PENTAGON“. That ought to teach them for relying on Russian state media for facts…

Republic TV claims the Pentagon was just hit by a massive explosion! 😲🤔

Here is my fact check : https://t.co/GndMXdMr4I #TechARP #Pentagon #Explosion #Military #USDOD #UnitedStates #Facts #FactsMatter #FactCheck #Hoax #Fake #FakeNews #AIGenerated #AI #ArtificialIntelligence pic.twitter.com/XaqglBsV3T

— Dr. Adrian Wong (@DrAdrianWong) May 24, 2023

Fact #6 : This Is Just AI-Generated Fake News!

This is yet another example of fake photos / videos / news created by artificial intelligence. Here are some other examples I fact checked recently:

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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Comedian in China arrested + fined US$2.1 Million!

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A comedian in China was just arrested and fined US$2.1 million for using a CCP slogan created by Chinese President Xi Jinping in his joke!

China Arrests + Fines Comedian US$2.1 Million For CCP Joke!

In the communist utopia of China, comedian Li Haoshi (who goes by the stage name, House) was just arrested by police after being fined a whopping 14.67 million yuan, which works out to about US$2.1 million!

What dastardly crime did Li Haoshi / House commit to deserve such a massive fine, and arrest? Well, the Chinese comedian simply made a joke using a CCP slogan created by Chinese President Xi Jinping!

The fine was issued by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, which concluded that his show was “a plot amounting to a serious insult to the People’s Liberation Army, and creates a bad social influence“.

We will never allow any company or individual to wantonly slander the glorious image of the People’s Liberation Army on a stage in the [Chinese] capital, never allow the people’s deep feelings for the soldiers to be hurt, and never allow serious subjects to be turned into entertainment.

What a glorious statement indeed by the most noble bureau of culture in China!

The Bureau confiscated RMB 1.32 million in “illegal proceeds” from the entertainment company representing House, and fined it RMB 13.35 million. The company was also banned from performing in Beijing indefinitely.

But that was not the end. On Wednesday, May 17, the Chaoyang branch of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau stated that an investigation was opened against Li Haoshi / House for making “derogatory remarks against the People’s Liberation Army”.

On the morning of Thursday, May 18, the comedian was arrested by the police. There has been no word on his whereabouts since then.

The US$2.1 Million CCP Joke That Made China Mad!

So what exactly was the world’s most expensive joke all about?

During his show in Beijing on Saturday, Li Haoshi / House spoke about how he adopted two stray dogs since moving to Shanghai. He joked that when they chased after a squirrel one day, he was reminded of these eight words:

作风优良，能打胜仗
Good style of work, capable of winning battles

That was a flipped version of the slogan that was coined by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, when he set out a list of qualities he wanted from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA)

建设一支听党指挥能打胜仗作风优良的人民军队
Build a people’s army that obeys the party’s command and can win battles with a good style of work

In the audio shared to Weibo, his audience can be heard laughing at the joke. Unfortunately, it went viral and caught the attention of Chinese nationalists and then the CCP government.

His joke was deemed to be insulting because “dogs” and “stray dogs” are used as insults in China. It is also common for Chinese netizens to also use insults like “American lapdogs”, for example.

In other words, his joke was perceived to be insulting both President Xi Jinping (who coined the slogan), and the PLA by referring to its soldiers as “stray dogs” that can win battles with a good style of work.

At military parades, especially when Xi Jinping is watching, PLA soldiers will often shout the slogan:

听党指挥，能打胜仗，作风优良！
Follow the Party’s command, capable of winning battles, with excellent conduct!

Now, such jokes may be par for the course in many free, democratic societies, but Li Haoshi / House appeared to have forgotten that China under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is neither free nor democratic.

If he made the same joke using a slogan by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, he would have gotten only laughs, because Taiwan is free and democratic. Unfortunately, he made a joke about the CCP and the PLA. Even worse, he made a joke about something Xi Jinping said, and that was the ultimate sin that anyone in mainland China can commit.

Li Haoshi / House and his company were not the only casualties of this expensive joke. Three other comedy companies suspended all of their performances as a result of this controversy :

Danli Ren Comedy (单立人喜剧),
Owl Comedy (猫头鹰喜剧), and
Xiaosheng Comedy Club (笑生喜剧脱口秀俱乐部)

Even more startling – a 34 year-old woman surnamed Shi was detained by police in Dalian city, after she posted a comment online, asking “Why should House be banned? Aren’t all soldier brothers also dog brothers?”

This goes to show just how closely the CCP government monitors speech in China, and how swiftly and mercilessly it strikes at people who even deigns to mock its authority.

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Did US Send Nuclear AEGIS Missiles To Ukraine?!

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Did the United States just send nuclear capable AEGIS missiles to Ukraine?!

Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!

Claim : US Sent Nuclear Capable AEGIS Missiles To Ukraine!

US Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently claimed that the US government sent nuclear capable AEGIS missiles to Ukraine!

In 2019 actor and comedian Volodymyr Zelensky ran as the peace candidate winning the Ukrainian presidency with 70% of the vote. As Benjamin Abelow observes in his brilliant book, “How the West Brought War to Ukraine,” Zelensky almost certainly could have avoided the 2022 war with Russia simply by uttering five words — “I will not join NATO.”

But pressured by NeoCons in the Biden White House, and by violent fascist elements within the Ukrainian government, Zelensky integrated his army with NATO’s and allowed the U.S. to place nuclear-capable Aegis missile launchers along Ukraine’s 1,200-mile border with Russia.

These were provocations that senior U.S. diplomats like post-WWII foreign policy architect George Kennan, former U.S. Defense Secretary Bill Perry, and former U.S. ambassador to Moscow Jack Matlock had long described as “red lines” for Russian leadership. Let’s face it, the Neocons wanted this war with Russia, just as they wanted war with Iraq.

He followed up by explaining that it’s because the AEGIS system is compatible with Tomahawk missiles which carry nuclear warheads.

The Aegis system advertises its tubes as compatible with Tomahawk missles which carry hydrogen bomb warheads with explosive power 10x the size of the Hiroshima bomb.

Truth : US Did Not Send Nuclear AEGIS Missiles To Ukraine!

This is another example of MISINFORMATION shared by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : AEGIS Is An Anti-Ballistic Missile System

Let me begin by pointing out that AEGIS is a missile defence system that is designed to defend against short to intermediate-range ballistic missiles.

In other words, AEGIS is not an offensive weapon. It is a defensive surface-to-air missile (SAM) system.

Fact #2 : AEGIS Is Not Nuclear Capable

As a defensive missile system, there is no need for AEGIS missiles to be nuclear-capable. Hence, there are no nuclear-capable AEGIS missiles or AEGIS missile launchers.

It is ludicrous for any missile defence system to use nuclear-tipped missiles since they would necessarily intercept incoming ballistic missiles in mid-flight.

The resulting explosion would cause massive destruction to the ground below, which would likely be in the territory of the defending country!

Fact #3 : There Are No AEGIS Missile Systems In Ukraine

AEGIS missile systems are complex and require extensive training, and are only deployed by American and NATO forces. They are also primarily based on ships, although NATO decided to develop the land-based AEGIS Ashore in 2014.

The first AEGIS Ashore site was deployed operationally in Deveselu, Romania, in 2016, while the second site was opened in Redzikowo in Poland, in 2022. There are no other AEGIS Ashore systems in the world, and certainly none in the Ukraine.

It takes many years to develop an AEGIS Ashore site. Even if the US government decided to setup an AEGIS Ashore site in Ukraine today, it wouldn’t be operational for many more years to come!

Note : The AEGIS Ashore facility is behind Robert F. Kennedy Jr. This launcher to his left is the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) launcher that was emplaced during AEGIS Ashore construction.

Fact #4 : AEGIS Is Not Compatible With Tomahawk

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. seems to be confusing the AEGIS missile system, with the Tomahawk cruise missile. They are both different systems. The AEGIS missile defence system is not compatible with the Tomahawk cruise missile system.

What he does not appear to understand is that ships that carry the AEGIS systems (AEGIS ships) use the Mark 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) which was upgraded to be backward compatible with other missiles. This allows the ships to use a standard canister launching system for different missiles.

Originally, the Mk 41 VLS was designed to fire the RIM-66 Standard missile used by the AEGIS system. But for greater flexibility, the launching system was upgraded to accommodate the larger canister used by Tomahawk missiles. The current Mk 41 VLS now accommodates a variety of different missiles:

RIM-66 Standard
RIM-67 Standard
RIM-161 Standard Missile 3
RIM-174 Standard ERAM
RGM-109 Tomahawk
RUM-139 VL-ASROC
RIM-7 Sea Sparrow
RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM)
Joint Strike Missile

While the launcher itself supports different missiles (which are stored in their own containers), the actual systems controlling those missiles are different. An AEGIS system for example, cannot fire Tomahawk missiles out of Mk 41 VLS launchers.

Fact #5 : There Are No Operational Nuclear Tomahawk Missiles

It is true that Tomahawk cruise missiles were originally designed to accept nuclear warheads, but they were withdrawn long ago, and are no longer in service:

BGM-109A Tomahawk Land Attack Missile – Nuclear (TLAM-N) had a W80 nuclear warhead, but was retired from service by 2013.
BGM-109G Ground Launched Cruise Missile (GLCM) had a W84 nuclear warhead, but was withdrawn from service in 1991 to comply with the INF Treaty.

There are currently no Tomahawk missiles with nuclear warheads in active service. So the claim that US deployed nuclear-capable Tomahawk missiles anywhere is nonsense.

Fact #6 : There Are Easier Ways To Attack Russia With Missiles

With heavy fighting on the frontlines in Ukraine, it doesn’t make sense for the US to deploy Tomahawk missiles, nuclear capable or otherwise, in that country.

For one thing, it would be taken as casus belli by Russia. Even if it chose not to escalate the war, it is easier for Russia to attack the AEGIS / Tomahawk missile launchers in Ukraine.

But more importantly, there are easier ways to hit Russia with Tomahawk missiles than deploying them in Ukraine, where Russian forces (including air defences) are deployed in great numbers.

It would be far easier and safer for the United States / NATO to attack Moscow (for example) using Tomahawk or other missiles deployed in Latvia or Estonia, which are both NATO members.

Fact #7 : Robert F. Kennedy Jr Admitted He Was Wrong

Almost a week after he made those false claims, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. finally admitted that he was wrong. But even his correction reasserted the false claim that Russian fears of AEGIS precipitated the 2023 invasion of Ukraine.

Latvia and Estonia are NATO members, where AEGIS Ashore missile systems can potentially be installed, and Tomahawk systems deployed. Attacking Ukraine, which is not a NATO member, does not change that calculus.

This only goes to show how ill-prepared he is to be Commander-in-Chief of the United States.

ERRATA: Apologies for my earlier tweet reporting that the U.S. had installed nuclear-capable Aegis Missile systems in Ukraine. This was incorrect. The U.S. installed the Aegis batteries in Romania and Poland.

According to former top NATO military planner Col. Douglas Macgregor and historian Benjamin Abelow, the Russian government’s fear that the U.S. was about to install the same systems in Ukraine was one of several national security anxieties that motivated Russia’s 2022 invasion.

Russia had been deeply concerned that new U.S. missile systems, deployed as close as 400 miles from Moscow, could increase the chance that, in a crisis, the U.S. might believe it could carry out a decapitating preemptive first strike.

Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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Did Germany accuse US of blowing up Nord Stream 2?!

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Did Germany just publicly accuse the US of blowing up Nord Stream 2 at the United Nations?!

Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!

Claim : Germany Accuses US Of Blowing Up Nord Stream 2!

People are sharing a YouTube video which shows Olaf Scholz, the Chancellor of Germany, publicly accusing the US of blowing up Nord Stream 2 at the United Nations!

BREAKING NEWS!!! Germany Accuses US Of Blowing Up Nord Stream 2.
Bravo – finally 👍👏

How To Be A Hypocrite Show How The Actions Of The West Divides The World Instead Of Bring It Together

Fierce and powerful recent speech of German Chancellor on Americans blowing up the Nord Stream pipeline, the aggressive using of Ukraine to start a war against Russia . ‘ We are the baddies’

Truth : Germany Did Not Accuse US Of Blowing Up Nord Stream 2!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created by pro-Russia activists, and promoted / shared by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) and pro-CCP netizens, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : Olaf Scholz Was Denouncing Russia’s Invasion Of Ukraine

I traced the video to a speech German Chancellor Olaf Scholz gave at the United Nations General Assembly’s 77th session on 20 September 2022

In the original, unedited video, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz did not accuse the US of blowing up the Nord Stream 2 pipelines. Instead, he denounced Russia’s invasion of Ukraine:

There is no justification whatsoever for Russia’s war of occupation against Ukraine. President Putin is waging this war with one single objective: to seize Ukraine. Self-determination, political independence do not count for him.

And there’s only one word for this – this is imperialism, plain and simple. The return of imperialism is not only a disaster for Europe, but also a disaster for our global peaceful order.

If we want this war to end, then we cannot be indifferent to how it ends. Putin will only give up his war and his imperialist ambitions if he realizes that he cannot wi.

This is why we will not accept a peace dictated by Russia. This is why we will not accept any pretentious referenda. And this is why Ukraine must be able to defend itself against Russia’s invasion.

Fact #2 : It Features A Fake “Satire” Voice-Over

The video is real, but the original audio was replaced by a fake male “satire” voice-over. The original, unedited video features a female interpreter, which you can view below.

The fake video creator actually mentioned this in the video’s title, but intentionally made the extra long to reduce visibility of that disclaimer. The fake news creator also mentioned the use of a fake voice-over in the description:

BREAKING NEWS!!! Germany Accuses US Of Blowing Up Nord Stream 2. (Satire Interpreter Voice)

How To Be A Hypocrite Show How The Actions Of The West Divides The World Instead Of Bring It Together. Satire Interpreter Voice To Show What The Rest Of The World World Prefer.

This goes to show just how many people don’t bother to even read the title. Of course, when it comes to pro-Russia and pro-CCP netizens, who cares? If it is anti-America, it must be true.

Fact #3 : It Was Posted By A New “Parody” YouTube Account

The viral video was posted by a new YouTube account created on March 15, 2023.

So far, this YouTube channel – AlienJacket, posted six anti-Western videos – five of which are fake “parody” videos.

The only non-parody video is of Zambian politician Fred M’membe criticising the United States at China’s recent “democracy forum” – the the Second International Forum on Democracy.

Fact #4 : Unknown Who Destroyed Nord Stream 2 Pipelines

It is currently unknown who destroyed the Nord Stream 2 pipelines. As far as plausible reasons go, many countries had plausible reasons to destroy the Nord Stream pipelines:

US : To prevent allies in Europe from being held hostage by their reliance on cheap Russian gas.
UK : To encourage allies in Europe to support Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion.
Russia : To stop supplying Europe without breaking its gas supply contracts, and/or to divide Europe.
Ukraine : To unite Europe against Russia.

While motive is important, it is not evidence that a country has committed the crime. There has to be actual evidence that the US / UK / Russia / Ukraine did it.

Regardless of what armchair experts may claim, there is simply no conclusive evidence YET that any of those countries are responsible for the destruction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines.

Fact #5 : This Is Pro-Russia Propaganda

This is really nothing more than yet another example of pro-Russia propaganda, like these examples:

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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Did Boston Dynamics Just Create A Fighting Robot?!

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Did Boston Dynamics just introduce a fighting robot that could replace soldiers on the battlefield?!

Take a look at the viral video, and find out what the facts really are!

Claim : Boston Dynamics Shows Off A Fighting Robot!

People are sharing a TikTok video which claims to show a Boston Dynamics robot that is capable of fighting, and could replace soldiers on the battlefield!

Gabor Gurbacs : Politicians are focusing on crypto regulation, meanwhile robots and AI building essential skills to take over the planet. Boston Dynamics robots now have martial arts and fighting skills. What could go wrong…

Velina Tchakarova : Why is Boston Dynamics teaching their robots how to fight?

Leo Rezaei : 🥊🥋 Boston Dynamics Robot training to fight?! @BostonDynamics

Did the Boston Dynamics just introduce a fighting robot?! 😲😳

Here is my fact check : https://t.co/xZamawwd7b #TechARP #BostonDynamics #Robot #Robotics #Tech #Technology #Military #Fighting #MartialArts #Boxing #Facts #FactsMatter #FactCheck #Hoax #Fake #FakeNews #AI pic.twitter.com/0v3yxcFG8U

— Dr. Adrian Wong (@DrAdrianWong) May 1, 2023

Truth : That Is Not A Boston Dynamics Fighting Robot!

This is yet another example of fake TikTok videos, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : Boston Dynamics Does Not Have A TikTok Account

First of all, I should just point out that Boston Dynamics does not have a TikTok account. It only has a YouTube channel.

Fact #2 : Fighting Robot Video Was CGI Generated

The @boston_dynamics TikTok account is a parody account called Botsom_Dynamics – a play on the name of the famed American robotics company.

That TikTok channel post robotics-related videos, but a number of obviously computer-generated graphics videos. But even if you didn’t know that, you can see that the video was CGI generated, if you look and listen carefully.

For example, when the robot does a backflip, you can hear its landing thump just before its feet actually hit the ground. There is also an odd “pow” sound effect when the robot makes a punch. Even worse – for all of its explosive moves, the robot does not kick up any dust, or damage the ground or grass in any way.

And if you look carefully, the entire robot actually floats over the ground a second before the video ends. This only appears in the original 11 second-long video which I uploaded above. The viral video clip on Twitter appears to cut out that part, and is much shorter at just 6 seconds.

Fact #3 : That Is Not The Boston Dynamics Atlas Robot

The robot in the viral video looks superficially like the Atlas robot that Boston Dynamics showed off in 2011. But if you look carefully, you will see that it really isn’t the Atlas.

For one thing – Atlas has a prominent Boston Dynamics logo on its front carapace, which is a two-piece design. The real Atlas also has a white webbed frame at the back.

The fake fighting robot has a one-piece front carapace without any logo, and a covered black back. The design of this CGI fighting robot was likely simplified to make it easier and faster to create and render.

Fact #4 : Boston Dynamics Forbid Using Their Robots As Weapons

Finally, I think it is important to note that Boston Dynamics refuses to partner with anyone who wishes to use their robots as weapons or autonomous targeting systems, as part of their Ethical Principles.

We will not weaponize our robots

We will not authorize nor partner with those who wish to use our robots as weapons or autonomous targeting systems. If our products are being used for harm, we will take appropriate measures to mitigate that misuse.

In addition, Boston Dynamics customers are prohibited from using their robots as weapons or autonomous targeting systems. Their Terms and Conditions of Sale specifically prohibits weaponising their robots.

We pledge that we will not weaponize our advanced-mobility general-purpose robots or the software we develop that enables advanced robotics and we will not support others to do so. When possible, we will carefully review our customers’ intended applications to avoid potential weaponization. We also pledge to explore the development of technological features that could mitigate or reduce these risks

Fact #5 : This Is Just Another Fake TikTok Video

This is yet another example of fake videos on TikTok created to generate money through advertising, just like these examples:

Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!

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Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!

Name : Adrian Wong
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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Did Joe Biden Just Walk Away From Air Force Falcons?!

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Did US President Joe Biden bizarrely walk away from the Air Force Falcons, before the football team could present him with a helmet and signed ball?!

Claim : Joe Biden Bizarrely Walks Away From Air Force Falcons!

People are sharing a Twitter video and post that appears to show US President Joe Biden suddenly walking away from the Air Force Falcons, before the football team could present him with a helmet and signed ball.

Sinnaig : 🇷🇺😂🤨 This guy “runs” the world…
Biden hosted the US Air Force Academy football team “Falcons” at the White House.
He was supposed to be presented with a ball signed by the team, a helmet and a football jersey. He only took the sweater and suddenly turned around and left…😂

In the video, a female officer gestures to President Biden, who pauses before turning around to walk away from the team with a football jersey, while two officers appear to be waiting to hand him a football and a helmet.

Did Joe Biden bizarrely walk AWAY from the Air Force Falcons BEFORE they presented him with a football and helmet?! 😳😜

Here is my fact check : https://t.co/6NWBzpOv8S #TechARP #JoeBiden #AirForce #USAF #Football #Sports #Politics #Politician #Propaganda #Facts #FactCheck pic.twitter.com/YAHrI2JeLs

— Dr. Adrian Wong (@DrAdrianWong) April 30, 2023

Why Joe Biden Walked Away From Air Force Falcons!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created by pro-Russia activists, and promoted / shared by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) and pro-CCP netizens, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : President Joe Biden Presented CIC Trophy To Air Force Falcons

First, let me just give you some context on what’s going on.

The video was recorded at around 2:40 PM on Friday, April 28, 2023 at the White House where President Joe Biden presented the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy to the Air Force Falcons.

Fact #2 : Air Force Falcons Presented Joe Biden With Ball + Helmet

Sinnaig falsely claimed that the President Joe Biden walked away before the Air Force Falcons presented him with a signed ball and a helmet, taking with him only a football jersey.

The truth is – the Air Force Falcons presented Joe Biden with all three items. This was specifically mentioned in the White House transcript of the event.

(The President is presented with an Air Force Falcons jersey, football, and helmet.)

Fact #3 : The Video Was Edited

The video is genuine, but edited to convey the impression that President Biden is a doddering old fool.

The fake news creator specifically cut out an earlier segment of the video so that it appears that Joe Biden walked away from the team before they presented him with the football and helmet.

In the original video (which I posted below), you can see Air Force Falcons coach Calhoun call on two Air Force captains to present the three items to President Biden.

Our two captains: Haaziq Daniels, quarterback, and — and running back Brad Roberts. And, sir, they have a couple of small items here for you.

Captain Haaziq Daniels first hands Biden the jersey, which he holds up for a photo, before he gives him the signed football. Biden then mocks an attempt to throw it, saying “Go down, out, and down” to laughter from the crowd.

After handing the football back to Captain Daniels, he says “Where I’m going tonight, I may need that helmet.“, and turns to take the helmet from Captain Brad Roberts.

Before walking off, he turns towards the team, and says something to them. It is inaudible, but according to the White House transcript, this was what he said:

Well, thank you very much. What a great, great honor. I appreciate it very much. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

After that, he turns around and walks out of the room, carrying only the jersey. It wouldn’t be possible for him to hold onto all three items after all.

The two Air Force captains then places the football and helmet on the table, before taking a photo with General Mark Milley, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

This video shows Joe Biden receiving the helmet and football from the Air Force Falcons, which was edited OUT of the fake video!

What's going on : https://t.co/6NWBzpOv8S #TechARP #JoeBiden #AirForce #USAF #Football #Sports #Politics #Politician #Propaganda #Facts #FactCheck pic.twitter.com/mtcYFx0gZG

— Dr. Adrian Wong (@DrAdrianWong) April 30, 2023

Fact #4 : This Is Just Fake News About Joe Biden

This is just another example of political fake news created to smear Joe Biden, and here are other examples you may have seen on social media:

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Does Viral Video Show Super Moon At Arctic Circle?!

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Does the viral video recorded at the Arctic circle show the total eclipse of the sun by a super moon at its perigee?!

Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!

Claim : Super Moon At Arctic Circle Causes Total Eclipse Of Sun!

This video, which has gone viral on WhatsApp and social media platforms, claims to show how the moon comes super close to the Earth at its perigee, and actually causes a total eclipse of the sun, at the Arctic circle!

The moon, seen from the Arctic Circle, between Russia and Canada. It only lasts a few seconds, but it’s worth seeing. It’s a spectacular sight.

Imagine that you are in a location between Canada and Russia and suddenly and for just 30 seconds, the moon appears in all its splendor and disappears before your eyes. It looks like the moon is going to collide with the earth.

Even more impressive AND for just 5 seconds, a total eclipse of the sun takes place. It’s unprecedented and spectacular!

The video was shot in REAL-TIME. The phenomenon happens at the “perigee”: the closest point of a heavenly body’s orbit around the Earth, where the proximity of the moon is so evident that, suddenly, we realize the great speed at which the Earth is moving.

This effect is only visible once a year and lasts for just 30 seconds…Astronomers figured out those exact 30 seconds and had the cameras rolling. Fortunately they had a clear sky. Pls enjoy 🙏🙏🙏

Does this viral video show a Super Moon at the Arctic Circle?! 😮

Here are the facts : https://t.co/paSzXloJdu #TechARP #SuperMoon #Moon #Space #Eclipse #SolarEclipse #Arctic #Astronomy #Facts #FactsMatter #FactCheck #Hoax #Fake #FakeNews #TikTok #CGI #Animation #Viral #Video pic.twitter.com/ennVCj3r2e

— Dr. Adrian Wong (@DrAdrianWong) April 24, 2023

Truth : Super Moon At Arctic Circle Video Is Fake!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS circulating on WhatsApp and social media platforms, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : Super Moon Video Started Going Viral In 2021

First, I think it is important to point out that this isn’t a new video. In fact, this super moon video first went viral in May 2021.

At that time, people were waiting to witness the Super Blood Moon on Wednesday, May 26, 2021, when there would be a complete lunar eclipse for about 15 minutes as the Earth passes directly between the moon and the sun.

The “blood” moon had a reddish-orange colour, because all of the sunrises and sunsets in the Earth’s atmosphere projected onto the surface of the eclipsed moon.

Fact #2 : Super Moon Video Was Created By Aleksey__nx

The viral video of the super moon perigee creating a total solar eclipse at the Arctic circle is actually a computer-generated animation created by a TikTok content creator called Aleksey__nx.

His original TikTok account is no longer around, but he has a new TikTok account aieksey__n, in which he shares similar computer-generated animation videos.

Fact #3 : Moon Distance Varies By Just 14%

The Moon orbits the Earth in an elliptical orbit, with its distance varying by 14%. At its closest point (perigee), it is about 356,500 km away, but at its furthest distance (apogee), it is 406,700 km away.

While the difference in distance can produce a noticeably smaller or larger Moon to the naked eye, it is not significant enough to produce such a large moon as seen in the viral video.

Remember – the difference in distance between the apogee (furthest point) and the perigee (closest point) is only 14%, so the size of the Moon will only vary by about 14% in diameter, and 30% in apparent area.

Fact #4 : Such A Moon Could Cause Havoc On Earth

The Moon would have to be extremely close to the Earth, for it to appear as large as shown in the viral video.

If that actually happened, the Moon would orbit the Earth much quicker. Instead of taking a month, it would take just hours to complete an orbit.

As impressive as such a large Moon would look, many of us would probably not be around to enjoy it because its gravitational pull would cause massive tidal waves that are hundreds of metres high, sweeping the globe as it goes around.

On top of that, the Moon’s gravitational pull on the Earth’s mantle would trigger apocalyptic-level volcanic activity and earthquakes as it orbits. Lakes and other large bodies of water would probably boil off, with molten lava flowing everywhere. Quite literally hell on Earth.

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Did CNN Hide Video Of Ukraine Attacking Donetsk?!

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Did CNN hide its video reporting on Ukraine attacking Donetsk and killing innocent civilians there?!

Take a look at the viral video, and find out what the facts really are!

Claim : CNN Hid Video Of Ukraine Attacking Donetsk!

People are sharing a video on WhatsApp, TikTok, and Facebook, which apparently shows CNN hiding its video reporting on Ukraine attacking Donetsk.

In the viral video, former Fox News presenter, Clayton Morris, appears to say that CNN hid a video showing Ukraine killing civilians in Donetsk.

CNN does not want us to see this video. That’s why they’ve hidden it on their website. But thanks to the Internet, we’re going to show it to you now.

This is CNN covering Donetsk. The Donbass being attacked by Ukraine. Watch.

The video then shows a CNN news report, in which the CNN reporter states:

Petro Poroshenko will have a hard time winning back hearts and minds in this city, as the people of Donetsk sweep up the debris of their homes and livelihoods. They’re hardened against the president they say is killing his own people.

We are Ukrainian, but they kill us, this man says, so we probably need our own country. The people in Kiev, they’re not brothers for us.

The shells hit these homes days ago, but the tears are still fresh. Two people were killed outside this block of flats last Wednesday. One of them was a 50 year-old woman, the other a 34 year-old woman.

Her husband, who won’t talk to us says he’s in shock, managed to make it down the cellar with their little child, but she just didn’t have the time, and this is a story that repeats itself over and over in dozens of apartment blocks, with civilians being killed by the constant shelling around Donetsk.

The Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) and pro-CCP netizens, are also promoting the video, with comments like:

With 14,000 casualties, among them, 3,500 women and children in the Donbas Region of Ukraine, between 2014 and February 2022, the MSM gave news black out to the war in Ukraine until Russia intervened in February 2022.
To many people around the world, the war in Ukraine started in 2022. In reality, it started in 2014.

Did CNN hide their video on Ukraine killing civilians in Donetsk?! 😲🤨

Here is my fact check : https://t.co/VY2iImITRz #TechARP #CNN #Ukraine #UkraineWar #Donetsk #Facts #FactsMatter #FactCheck #Hoax #Fake #FakeNews #TikTok #Propaganda #Russia #Russian #War #Military #Video pic.twitter.com/ziTJP0jPeW

— Dr. Adrian Wong (@AdrianTechARP) April 15, 2023

Truth : CNN Did Not Hide Video Of Ukraine Attacking Donetsk!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : Original Clayton Morris Video Cannot Be Located

First, I need to point out that I am unable to locate the original Clayton Morris video, and so cannot verify if it was edited or not.

The examples shared on WhatsApp and Facebook appear to originate from a TikTok account called crazyballheads2, which posted it on 12 April 2023.

Fact #2 : CNN Video + Report Was Never Hidden

It took me less than 5 minutes to locate the original CNN video, and the accompanying news report, that was posted by Diana Magnay and Laura Smith-Spark on September 2, 2014.

Misery in Ukraine as deadly conflict drives civilians from homes

Donetsk, Ukraine CNN — In the city of Donetsk, the devastation wrought by weeks of fighting between pro-Russia rebels and Ukrainian forces is all too apparent.

And as the civilians caught in the crossfire sweep up the debris of their homes and livelihoods, they are hardened against a president they say is killing his own people.

So the claim that CNN hid the video on their website is nonsense. It is easily accessible by anyone on the CNN website.

Fact #3 : Ukraine Was Trying To Regain Donetsk From Rebels

The Ukrainian army was attacking Donetsk because Russian-backed rebel forces took control of the Donbass region, after Russia annexed Crimea. For those who forget their history, here’s a quick recap:

In February 2014, Ukrainian protestors ousted pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych from office. In retaliation, Russia invaded and annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, before supporting an armed insurgency in the Donbass region.

By April 2014, Russian-backed rebels seized government buildings in the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces (oblasts), and proclaimed the creation of the People’s Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. That started the armed conflict between Ukrainian armed forces and the Russian-backed rebels.

At first, Russia quietly supplied and helped the rebels with armaments and irregular troops. That led to the downing of MH17 by DPR forces using a Buk missile launcher that just arrived from Russia that day, and was quickly moved back across the border after that. The Buk missile launcher was later traced to Russia’s 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade.

By August 2014, Russia dispensed with the pretence, and Russian forces actively participated in the conflict, helping to capture more Ukrainian territory.

Fact #4 : This Is Just Fake News About Ukraine War

This is just another example of fake news created about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Here are other examples you may have seen on social media:

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Winnie the Pooh patch : TW’s middle finger to Xi Jinping!

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The Taiwanese-designed Winnie the Pooh patch is flying off shelves, as people start wearing it as a middle finger to Chinese President Xi Jin Ping!

Winnie the Pooh Aviation Suit Patch Goes Viral!

Aviation suit patches designed by Taiwanese artist, Alec Hsu, have gone viral, after the Taiwanese military news agency published a photo of a Taiwanese pilot wearing the patch on his suit.

That particular aviation suit patch shows Winnie the Pooh – a reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), getting socked in the face by an angry Formosan black bear!

The poor bear is often used to mock Chinese President Xi Jinping. So often that Chinese censors not only actively target all mention or postings of the lovable bear, China even banned the release of 2018 Christopher Robin movie, and the 2023 slasher movie Winnie-the-Pooh : Blood and Honey!

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) may not like it, but the Taiwanese are really loving it, with a surge in demand for the patches.

Winnie the Pooh patch is a middle finger to Xi Jinping!

Alec Hau Fu-yu (徐福佑) designed and started selling the patches last year at his Taoyuan shop, Wings Fan Journal. But they didn’t go viral until one appeared on the suit of the Taiwanese pilot who was inspecting his fighter jet.

Hsu, who served in the Air Force during his mandatory military service, said that he created the badges of his own accord, and that they have nothing to do with Taiwan’s military.

I wanted to boost the morale of our troops through designing this patch.

After his badges went viral, he ordered more of them to be made to meet the increased demand. He noted that sewing such patches onto military jackets is a long-standing practice to commemorate different missions or tasks.

There appears to be at least two versions of the Winnie the Pooh patch, with a red or a blue background.

Both red and blue versions depict an angry Formosan black bear holding a Republic of China flag in its left hand, while punching Winnie the Pooh, who is dressed in its signature red shirt while holding onto a honey pot with the 5 stars from the Chinese flag engraved on it.

Both versions also have the slogan, Scramble! – referring to the act of quickly sending military aircraft to intercept hostile aircraft. In recent years, Taiwanese pilots have had to often scramble to intercept Chinese aircraft entering Taiwan’s Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ).

The red version has the slogan, WE ARE OPEN 24/7; while the blue version has the slogan, FIGHT FOR FREEDOM.

These patches went viral during a time of great tension between China and Taiwan, after Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen returned to Taipei after meeting US House of Representative Speaker Kevin McCarthy. China reacted by launching 3 days of military exercises called Joint Sword a day later, simulating attacks and a blockade of Taiwan

The “scramble” for these uniquely Taiwanese badges goes to show just what the Taiwanese people think of how China has behaved. These patches are a symbol of their defiance and resistance to Chinese aggression.

Buying and wearing these patches is perhaps their way to show their middle finger to Chinese President Xi Jinping, while not targeting China the country itself.

For its part, the Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF) say that it does not “particularly encourage” its members to wear the patch as it is not part of their uniform, but it “will maintain an open attitude” to anything that raises morale.

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Did Buzz Aldrin Just Admit Moon Landing Was Fake?!

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Did former Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin just admit on TV that the famous first moon landing was fake?!

Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!

Claim : Buzz Aldrin Admitted Moon Landing Was Fake!

People are sharing a TikTok video which purportedly shows former Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin admitting on TV that the moon landing was fake!

Stew Peters : Why would Buzz Aldrin say this? 🤯

Is he trolling?

Buzz Aldrin Tried to Tell You! The Moon Landing Was Fake.

#NASA #UN #WEF #WHO #NasaLied #MOONLANDING #BuzzAldrin #StanleyKubrick #CIA #NAZI

Buzz Aldrin admits the moon landing was fake “We didn’t go there”

Moon landing 1969 was fake.
So supposedly Apollo 11 launched on July 16, 1969 with Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin.

A filthy j-w wanted evidence that it was fake, here it is:

Did Buzz Aldrin just admit that the moon landing was fake?! 😱

Here are the FACTS : https://t.co/I4CTFQ4NWD #TechARP #BuzzAldrin #NASA #Space #Moon #MoonLanding #Conspiracy #Facts #FactsMatter #FactCheck #Hoax #Fake #FakeNews #Astronomy #Viral #ConspiracyTheories #Astronaut pic.twitter.com/IJUr9tPgir

— Dr. Adrian Wong (@AdrianTechARP) March 27, 2023

Truth : Buzz Aldrin Did NOT Admit Moon Landing Was Fake!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created on TikTok, and shared on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : These Are Old Videos

First, let me just point out that the viral video clip consists of three old video clips from 2005 and 2015.

first part was from a Q&A session with Buzz Aldrin at the Oxford Union in 2015
second part was from an interview with Buzz Aldrin at the 2015 National Book Festival
third part was from an old Conan O’Brien interview of Buzz Aldrin from 2000.

They are not new or recent by any measure, so claiming that Buzz Aldrin “just” admitted that the famous first moon landing was fake is nonsense.

Fact #2 : The Video Clips Were Edited To Remove Context

The three video clips are real, but were edited to remove context, in order to misrepresent what Buzz Aldrin said.

In the first video clip, Buzz Aldrin was asked by an audience member, what was “the scariest moment of the journey”, to which he replied, “Scariest? It didn’t happen. It could’ve been scary, don’t you think?”

The video creator cut the clip at that point, to make it look like Buzz Aldrin said that the moon landing didn’t happen. The truth is – Buzz Aldrin was referring to how the “scariest moment” could have, but fortunately did not happen.

In the part that was edited out, Buzz Aldrin explained how he saw a “broken circuit breaker” in the dust on the floor of the lunar module – “there was something that didn’t look like it belonged there“. He then explained how pushing that circuit breaker with a pen sent the necessary power to the engine that helped return them to Earth.

In the second video clip, Buzz Aldrin was asked why nobody has “been to the moon in such a long time“, to which he responded, “because we didn’t go there, and that’s the way it happened“.

The video creator edited out the subsequent part which shows Aldrin explaining that “we need to know why something stopped in the past if we wanted to keep it going“, and saying that money was a factor, as more money is needed for new equipment, “instead of keep doing the same thing“.

The third video clip shows Buzz Aldrin being interviewed by Conan O’Brien about the animations used in the TV coverage of the moon landing. He explained that the TV stations were using those animations with the actual audio because there was no one on the moon to film the moon landing!

Fact #3 : Buzz Aldrin Has Long Called For A Return To The Moon.

Buzz Aldrin has never said that the moon landings were fake, or that NASA never made it to the moon. In fact, he also long called for a return to the moon.

In August 2017 – 48 years after the Apollo 11 moon landing, he made another open call for a return to the moon, as the first step towards sending humans to Mars.

I think the National Space Council could exert a strong position of leadership by pulling together space-capable nations to forge a partnership — one that utilizes low Earth orbit and the Moon as a testing ground for technologies needed to make possible footprints on faraway Mars.

The United States is the experienced and potential leader of this coalition of space-capable countries. Doing so could decrease the cost of many activities in Earth orbit and at the Moon in preparation for Mars.

Given the reactivation of the National Space Council, I call upon them to help secure a bold presidential commitment. That is, on the 50th anniversary of the first Apollo landing on the Moon in 2019, to commit to a continued occupation of Mars with international crews. Through U.S. leadership, we can facilitate and sustain the arrival of humans on Mars.

Fact #4 : Buzz Aldrin Punched Moon Landing Denier In 2019

It is also ludicrous to claim that Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin wanted to avoid NASA censorship, and sneak word out that the moon landing was fake.

Buzz Aldrin was been outspoken about the moon landing, and has never claimed that it was fake. In fact, he once punched Bart Sibrel – a conspiracy theorists who made “documentaries” like A funny thing happened on the way to the moon (2001) and Astronauts Gone Wild (2004).

On 9 September 2002, Bart Sibrel cornered Buzz Aldrin in Beverly Hills, asking him if the moon landing and his lunar walk was fake, and badgering him to swear on the Bible. But when he called Aldrin “a coward, and a liar, and a thief”, Buzz Aldrin punched him in the face.

One small punch for Sibrel, one giant slap for conspiracy theories!

Find out WHY Buzz Aldrin punched this man in the face! 😱

Here are the FACTS : https://t.co/I4CTFQ4NWD #TechARP #BuzzAldrin #NASA #Space #Moon #MoonLanding #Conspiracy #Facts #FactsMatter #FactCheck #Hoax #Fake #FakeNews #Astronomy #Video #Viral #ConspiracyTheories #Astronaut pic.twitter.com/B5qR7L85n7

— Dr. Adrian Wong (@AdrianTechARP) March 27, 2023

Fact #5 : Moon Landing Was Not A Hoax

It is now 2023 – over 53 years since Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first human beings to step foot on the moon. We need to stop believing in fake news, because over the last half century, this conspiracy theory has been repeatedly debunked:

the Apollo program involved over 400,000 people, and no one has ever produced a single shred of evidence it was fake.
Each Apollo lander left a “retroreflector” on the moon, which are used to measure the moon’s distance. Anyone with a powerful enough laser can prove that the moon landings are real by aiming it at any of these retroreflectors.
The NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mapped the moon’s surface in detail in 2009, and returned images of the Apollo landing sites, showing the lunar modules, flags and astronaut footprints.
The six Apollo missions brought back 380 kg of moon rock samples that are 200 million years older than any Earth rocks.

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Did US Steal Instant Noodles From Earthquake Victims?!

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Was the US military caught stealing Indomie instant noodles that Indonesia donated to earthquake victims?!

Take a look at the viral photo, and find out what the facts really are!

Claim : US Stole Instant Noodles From Earthquake Victims!

People are sharing a photo of US soldiers carrying Indomie boxes, claiming that it is evidence the US military stole instant noodles that Indonesia donated to earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria!

ElysiusThor : Hot on the heels of the US military stealing tents donated by China to the Syrian earthquake victims, it’s now been revealed that they’re also stealing Indonesian-donated instant noodles as well. What the hell is the Pentagon feeding them then?

Bevin Chu 朱炳文 : The Unite [sic] States. An equal opportunity looter.

It loots the Syrian people’s oil, the Chinese people’s humanitarian relief tents, and the Indonesian people’s humanitarian relief foodstuffs with equal alacrity.

军武季 : 继美军盗窃中国捐赠给叙利亚地震灾民的帐篷后，又被爆出盗窃印尼捐赠的方便面。五角大楼到底在喂他们什么？

After the U.S. military stole the tents donated by China to the victims of the earthquake in Syria, it was revealed that it stole instant noodles donated by Indonesia. What the hell is the Pentagon feeding them?

Recommended : Was US Military Caught Stealing Tents From China?!

Truth : US Did Not Steal Instant Noodles From Earthquake Victims!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created by Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) or pro-CCP netizens and groups, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : Viral Photo Was Taken In Turkey

I traced the origin of viral photo to the DVIDS (Defense Visual Information Distribution Service) website.

I confirmed that the original photo was taken by Captain William Stroud, of the 1st Armoured Division Combat Aviation Brigade, in Dulkadiroğlu, Türkiye on 22 February 2023.

Fact #2 : US Soldiers Were Delivering Aid In Turkey

The claim that the US military stole the Indomie instant noodles from Indonesia is nonsense.

The soldiers were carrying relief supplies to people affected by the earthquake in Turkey. This was clearly explained in the caption of the photo:

U.S. Army soldier assigned to 1st Battalion, 214th Aviation Regiment, 12th Combat Aviation Brigade (12th CAB), V Corps, delivers relief supplies to Turkish authorities in Dulkadiroğlu, Türkiye, Feb. 22, 2023. The 12th CAB supports the dynamic lift capability of the 1AD CAB in direct support of USAID and Turkish relief efforts, to those affected by the earthquakes in Türkiye. 12th CAB is one of several U.S. military units supporting Task Force 61/2 (TF 61/2), operating under U.S. Sixth Fleet, U.S. Naval Forces Europe (NAVEUR), and U.S. European Command as part of the International Turkish disaster relief efforts.

Here is another photo of the same Indomie instant noodles, this time being delivered by US Marines on a CH-47 Chinook helicopter.

Earthquake relief. @USMC Marines assist the Turkish military loading humanitarian aid onto a CH-47 Chinook helicopter at Incirlik Air Base, Türkiye, as part of an international effort supporting earthquake relief operations. pic.twitter.com/Is8hn13WwP

— Department of Defense 🇺🇸 (@DeptofDefense) February 26, 2023

Fact #3 : Indomie Instant Noodles Were Produced In Turkey

It is unknown if the Indomie instant noodles were donated by Indonesia, or merely provided by the Turkish relief agency, AFAD.

However, the Indomie instant noodles in the viral photo appear to be produced in Turkey. If you look closely at the boxes, you can see that these Turkish words.

Hazir Noodle : Instant Noodles

Yerli Üretim : Domestic Production

Bardak : Cup [Noodles]

Sebzeli Hazir Noodle : Vegetarian Instant Noodles

In 2014, Indofood set up a factory to produce Indomie instant noodles in the Tekirdağ industrial district, in Turkey.

Fact #4 : US Military Helped To Deliver Aid

While many countries sent tons of food and other supplies to Turkey, most did not have any base or ability to transport the humanitarian aid to the affected areas. That was left to AFAD – the Turkish relief agency.

That was where the United States military came in – they used their helicopters at the Incirlik Air Base to deliver donated aid to the affected areas that are hard to reach by trucks.

That’s why you see US soldiers taking things on or off helicopters, which may have been donated by other countries. They were not stealing anything, just helping to deliver them.

Fact #5 : This Is Just Chinese Propaganda

This appears to be yet another example of Chinese propaganda created by the infamous Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), or pro-CCP netizens.

Here is just the latest dozen the other wumao articles and videos that I looked at so far:

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Did US Steal $50 Trillion Of Gold + Oil From Iraq?!

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Did the US government steal $50 trillion worth of gold and oil from Iraq?!

Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!

Claim : US Stole Gold + Oil From Iraq Worth $50 Trillion!

People are sharing photos of US soldiers posing with gold bars, as evidence that the United States sold gold and oil from Iraq worth tens of trillions of dollars!

These photos have been revived on the 20th anniversary of Operation Iraqi Freedom, as part of the information warfare surrounding the Russian invasion of Ukraine, being shared and promoted on pro-CCP and pro-Russia groups on social media, WhatsApp, Telegram, etc.

Here the US thieves in Iraq. Bringing democracy aka stealing a country’s gold. Same thing they want to do in Russia. But Russia is no Iraq or Libya.

The #US ransacked and plundered the whole of #Iraq. Banks, museums, all of their gold reserves. The US is the biggest gang of thiefs in the whole history. They have raped most of the planet in the last 50 years. #Ukraine #UkraineRussianWar #UkraineRussiaWar #Russia #Putin #NATO

🇺🇸 “liberates” gold & oil while 🇷🇺 liberates humans.

#Denaƶification & #Demilitarization of #UkroNaƶiLand

Truth : US Did Not Steal Gold + Oil From Iraq At All!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created and/or propagated to deflect criticism of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : US Did Not Steal $30 Trillion Of Iraqi Oil

Claims that the US stole $30 trillion worth of oil from Iraq are false. The United States did lose track of 8.7 billion dollars worth of Iraqi funds though.

After the invasion of Iraq concluded, Iraqi oil was sold to help fund the Development Fund of Iraq (DFI). Other sources of funds include surplus funds (about USD 10 billion) from the UN Oil-For-Food Program, and the sale of seized Iraqi assets.

The United States did not truck away Iraqi oil, as claimed. In July 2010, the US Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) discovered that the US Department of Defense could not account properly for USD 8.7 billion of DFI funds.

This led the Iraqi Parliament to request the United Nation’s help in demanding that the US return $17 billion of “oil money” that it said was stolen from the Iraqi people :

All the indications are that the institutions of the United States of America committed financial corruption by stealing the money of the Iraqi people, which was allocated to develop Iraq, (and) that it was about $17 billion.

… Our committee decided to send this issue to you … to look into it and restore the stolen money.

There is no evidence that the unaccounted money was repatriated to the United States, or officially taken by the United States.

Even assuming that it was not poor accounting and all of the $8.7 billion was truly stolen, that is a far cry (0.029%) from the $30 trillion that was “allegedly” stolen.

It is also rendered ludicrous by the fact that the United States spent US$60 billion in the reconstruction of Iraq.

Also consider the fact that Iraqi oil production only reached 4.4 million barrels per day in 2016. Assuming an average sale price of USD 60 per barrel, it would take them 311 years to sell enough oil to make $30 trillion.

Stealing $30 trillion worth of oil would require 1.7 billion oil trucks, or 46,000 of these trucks every day for 100 years!

Fact #2 : US Did Not Steal $20 Trillion Of Iraqi Gold

The United States also did not steal gold from Iraq, certainly not $20 trillion worth of gold!

All those photos of US soldiers with Iraqi gold bars are genuine, but they only show them taking photos with the gold they seized in Iraq.

The Iraqi gold bars (as well as currency and other valuables) that US soldiers seized were transported to the US Army’s headquarters in Kuwait.

There, they were examined by the Secret Service and/or the US Department of Treasury to determine their authenticity and value, before being returned to the Central Iraqi Treasury or the Development Fund of Iraq (DFI).

This is a picture of Lt. Col. Scott Schmidt, who was in charge of the 230th Finance Battalion. The battalion’s job was to seize Iraqi assets like currency, gold bars and other valuables.

In 2003, Iraq had under 6 tonnes of gold reserves, worth less than $70 million. So how can the United States possibly steal 20 trillion dollars worth of gold from Iraq? $20 trillion worth of gold would weigh at least 1,714,285 tonnes in 2003.

Guess how much gold mankind has ever mined in history? Only 205,238 tonnes as of January 2023 – which is less than 12% of what people are claiming that the United States stole from Iraq.

As of January 2023, the value of all the gold in the world is only USD 9.6 trillion – less than half of what the conspiracy theory claims the United States stole from Iraq… and that’s only because gold prices have gone up considerably.

Even with the much higher gold price, it would take an additional 90 years of mining gold before the entire world has $20 trillion worth of gold for the US government to steal.

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Was US Military Caught Stealing Tents From China?!

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Did the Chinese catch the US military stealing humanitarian tents China donated to Syria?!

Take a look at the viral photo, and find out what the facts really are!

Claim : US Military Was Caught Stealing Tents From China!

People are sharing a photo of a US soldier carrying a white humanitarian tent, claiming that it is evidence the US military stole it from China, just like how it stole oil from Syria!

A few days ago, the Chinese discovered that the US military was using tents from China. Only now it turned out these tents are from a humanitarian convoy that China sent to Syria. The Americans are not only stealing oil from Syria, but also humanitarian aid.

Even Iranian state media, Press TV, posted the same photo, and claim:

It’s not only oil that the US steals from Syria!

A photo of an American soldier carrying a Chinese tent has been circulating on social media!

It is now reported that the tents were from a humanitarian convoy that China had sent to Syria.

Truth : US Military Was NOT Caught Stealing Tents From China!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created by Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), and spread by pro-CCP netizens and groups.

Fact #1 : Viral Photo Was Taken In Turkey

First, let me just point out that the viral photo was actually posted by the US Army’s official Instagram account on March 8, 2023. It was also taken in Turkey, not Syria, as alleged.

Fact #2 : US Soldier Was Delivering Aid In Turkey

The claim that the US military was using tents from China is nonsense.

The soldier was carrying the humanitarian tent to aid people affected by the earthquake in Turkey. This was clearly explained in the caption of the photo:

See how @101stabndivaa (101st Airborne Division) is #MakingADifference

First Strike Soldiers continue to work in support of USAID – US Agency for International Development and Turkish relief efforts to those affected by the earthquake in Türkiye. The First Strike Way! 🖤

#StrongerTogether #Peoplehelpingpeople #Support #disasterrelief

Fact #3 : Tent Was Likely Donated By China

Despite counter-claims that the tent was donated by Taiwan, the tent carried by the US soldier appears to be donated by China to help with the humanitarian efforts in Turkey and Syria, following the massive 2023 earthquake.

The tent cover has the printed description in Simplified Chinese (which is used in China, Singapore and Malaysia), instead of Traditional Chinese used in Taiwan:

应急救灾 12m²
数量：1套
体积 : 1830mmx210mm

Emergency Disaster Relief 12m²
Quantity : 1 Set
Dimensions : 1830mmx210mm

Fact #4 : US Military Helped To Deliver Aid

While the China sent tons of tents and other supplies to Turkey, it did not have any base or ability to transport those aid to the affected areas. That was left to AFAD – the Turkish relief agency.

That was where the United States military came in – they used their helicopters at the Incirlik Air Base to deliver donated aid to the affected areas that are hard to reach by trucks.

That’s why you see US soldiers taking things on or off helicopters, which may have been donated by other countries. They were not stealing anything, just helping to deliver them.

Fact #5 : US Has Almost Triple Military Budget Of China

Only the most ignorant Chinese or pro-CCP netizen will believe that the US military needs to steal tents donated by China. And of all things – white humanitarian tents…

Anyone who even does a 5 second check would have discovered that the United States has almost triple the military budget of China.

In 2021, the US military budget was $767.8 billion, while China only spent $270 billion on its military. The US military can definitely afford to pay for more tents than the Chinese.

Fact #6 : No Evidence Chinese Convoy Got Hijacked By US Military

There is no evidence that the tent being carried by the soldier was stolen from a Chinese humanitarian convoy in Syria.

There is also no evidence that any Chinese humanitarian convoy was hijacked by the US military. If that actually happened, China would have protested the hijacking publicly, and the news would have been broadcasted by the many press and propaganda outlets controlled by the CCP government.

Naturally, there was nothing of the sorts. But since when have the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), or pro-CCP netizens, ever cared about facts?

Fact #7 : This Is Just Chinese Propaganda

This appears to be yet another example of Chinese propaganda created by the infamous Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), or pro-CCP netizens.

Here is just the latest dozen the other wumao articles and videos that I looked at so far:

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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Was BBC Journalist Pretending To Be In Danger?!

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Was BBC journalist Jeremy Bowen caught pretending to be in danger in Ukraine?!

Take a look at the viral photo, and find out what the facts really are!

Claim : BBC Journalist Was Caught Pretending To Be In Danger!

People are sharing a photo of Jeremy Bowen lying on the ground, claiming that the BBC journalist was caught pretending to be in danger!

So brave this BBC western media reporter bringing us life story.

BBC’s Jeremy Bowen, pretends to be on the frontline, whilst a woman looks on, seemingly bemused, carrying her shopping!

Even the Russian Deputy Ambassador to the United States, Dmitry Polyanskiy shared the viral photo, claiming that:

An illustration of the quality of @BBCWorld’s ‘professional journalism’.

Western media is fighting at NATO’s proxy war with Russia in Ukraine like a rank-and-file soldier, instead of providing objective information to its readers!

Truth : BBC Journalist Was Not Caught Pretending To Be In Danger!

This is yet another example of Chinese and Russian propaganda, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : Viral Photo Is Screenshot From Video

First, let me just point out that the viral photo is actually a screenshot from a BBC News video, recorded on 6 March 2023.

It was part of BBC journalist Jeremy Bowen’s report on the Battle of Irpin, during which the city was wracked by fierce street fighting and artillery shelling.

Fact #2 : Jeremy Bowen Was Taking Cover From Artillery Shelling

If you watch the BBC News video in its entirety, you can see Jeremy Bowen and his crew accompanying the woman in question, as well as other civilians, as they try to leave the city of Irpin.

Even in the short clip that I posted below, you can see the group suddenly falling to the ground, as shells pounded nearby.

The screenshot occurred as Jeremy Bowen laid on the ground while reporting on the shelling. The woman and other people can be seen crouching, only getting up to move on when the shelling stopped.

While that screenshot made it look like Jeremy Bowen was pretending to be in danger, the truth is – he was in danger, as were the people he was accompanying. A woman and two children were killed by Russian mortar fire that same day, as they tried to flee the city.

Was BBC journalist Jeremy Bowen caught pretending to be in danger in Ukraine?!

Here are the facts : https://t.co/ezMSDQa7KJ #TechARP #BBC #JeremyBowen #Journalist #News #Facts #FactsMatter #FactCheck #Ukraine #UkraineWar #Russia #China #Propaganda #Fake #FakeNews #Wumao pic.twitter.com/82GbYCWo6f

— Dr. Adrian Wong (@AdrianTechARP) March 11, 2023

Fact #3 : This Is Just Another Example Of Pro-Russia Propaganda

This appears to be yet another example of Russian and Chinese propaganda created to mislead people about the carnage Russia has been wreaking in its invasion of Ukraine.

Here is just the latest dozen the other Russian and Chinese propaganda articles and videos that I looked at so far:

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Name : Adrian Wong
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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Does CGTN Video Prove US Blew Up Nord Stream?!

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Does a viral CGTN video show how the US government blew up the Nord Stream gas pipelines?!

Take a look at the viral video, and find out what the facts really are!

Claim : CGTN Video Shows How US Blew Up Nord Stream Pipelines!

People are sharing a CGTN video that claims to show how the US government blew up the Nord Stream gas pipelines.

Here is a transcript of the video which I will share in two parts below, but feel free to skip to the next section for the facts.

How they blew up Nord Stream

On February 24, 2022, the Ukrainian crisis erupted. Before and after that, the U.S. politicians have repeatedly threatened an attack on the Nord Stream pipeline.

US President Joe Biden : If Russia invades Ukraine, Nord Stream will cease to exist.

US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland : If Russia invades Ukraine, Nord Stream 2 will not move forward.

119 days prior to the Nord Stream explosions, several members of the task force, allegedly led by U.S. President National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, flew to Norway to find a suitable place to plant explosives under the pipeline.

116 days prior to the Nord Stream explosions, a U.S. aircraft carrier has arrived in the Baltic Sea to participate in NATO’s annual naval exercise Baltops-22.

113 days prior to the Nord Stream explosions, the Baltops-22 military exercise has begun. The manoeuvres continued in the Baltic Sea for 13 days.

During the exercise, the U.S. planes regularly circled over the sites of future gas pipeline explosions. The minimum flight altitude was less than 600 meters.

Underwater explosive placement training was performed during the military drills in the water area near the gas pipelines.

103 days prior to the Nord Stream explosions, presumably, a group of Americans in plain clothes arrived at the exercise site by helicopter, and met with the Vice Admiral of the Sixth Fleet of the U.S. Navy, as well as a group of men in plain clothes.

The Americans then went on a deep dive. They placed the C4 explosive on pipes with a protective concrete coating. The operation lasted six hours.

24 days prior to the Nord Stream explosions, U.S. Navy helicopters circled the sites of future pipeline explosions.

On the day of the explosions, a P8 reconnaissance plane allegedly flew over the Baltic Sea and dropped a hydroacoustic buoy that detonated C4 explosives on the gas pipelines.

The explosive destroyed three out of the four gas pipelines. Methane from the pipelines began to spread across the surface of the water. The operator of Nord Streams [sic] estimates that the repair work will cost more than $500 million and take at least a year.

However, due to the U.S. and Western sanctions, the repair of the Nord Streams [sic] is not yet possible. The longer the repairs are delayed, the more difficult they will be.

4 days after the explosions at Nord Streams, Anthony [sic] Blinken said, “This is also a great opportunity to end Europe’s energy dependence on Russia once and for all.

148 days after the explosions at Nord Streams, on February 21, 2023, at Russia’s request, the UN Security Council held a meeting on the North [sic] Streams explosions where a heated debate about the incident and its investigations erupted.

Show less

Here is Part 2 of the CGTN video that claims to show HOW the United States blew up the Nord Stream pipelines!

Read my fact check : https://t.co/d0GHPsm2tM #TechARP #CGTN #China #Russia #Ukraine #UkraineWar #NordStream #SeymourHersh #Conspiracy #Facts #FactsMatter #FactCheck pic.twitter.com/PJ86b2aYvn

— Dr. Adrian Wong (@AdrianTechARP) March 10, 2023

No Evidence CGTN Video Shows How US Blew Up Nord Stream Pipelines!

This is yet another example of Chinese propaganda, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : CGTN Is An Official Chinese State Media Outlet

China Global Television Network (CGTN) is a state-run and -funded news channel owned by Chinese state broadcaster China Central Television, and controlled by the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

While it portrays itself as offering an alternative view of world affairs, it is known as a vital Chinese government propaganda outlet, with its accuracy often questioned.

Even here at Tech ARP, I have personally fact checked CGTN on several occasions.

Fact #2 : CGTN Video Is Based On Seymour Hersh’s Claims

The CGTN video appears to be based entirely on claims by American journalist, Seymour Myron Hersh, and does not offer anything new to add to the story.

Fact #3 : CGTN Video + Seymour Hersh Offered No Actual Evidence

Like Seymour Hersh’s Substack article, the CGTN video is loud and dramatic. Quite unlike the Nord Stream explosions that took place underwater.

However, if you actually analyse both the CGTN video and/or Seymour Hersh’s article, you have to ask – where actually is the evidence?

Seymour Hersh himself based his article on a single anonymous source. Even more concerning, no one else has been able to corroborate his claims more than 5 weeks later.

The viral CGTN video just repeats whatever Seymour Hersh claimed, without offering any evidence. It is important to note that this video was created by what is ostensibly a news organisation that is supposed to verify the facts before publishing.

Fact #4 : Seymour Hersh Claims Are In Dispute

The US government has naturally disputed Seymour Hersh’s claims, calling his article “utterly false and complete fiction”.

What’s concerning to me, as a common person, though is that some of Hersh’s claims are suspect and easily fact checked. Take for example, his claims that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was a committed anti-communist who had been cooperating with US intelligence since the Vietnam War.

It would be quite a feat for Stoltenberg to work with US intelligence during the Vietnam War since he was born in 1959, and would have been only 4-16 years old at that time! Stoltenberg was also pro-Communist as a young teen, and opposed US involvement in the Vietnam War by participating in protest rallies against the US embassy in Oslo.

Seymour Hersh’s claim that an Alta-class minesweeper was used in BALTOPS 2022 is also in dispute. Joe Galvin, OSINT editor of The Outlaw Ocean Project, showed that no Alta-class minesweepers were in the area at that time!

Hersh’s claim that the explosions were triggered by a sonobuoy dropped by a Norwegian P-8 Poseidon aircraft is also in dispute. Norway has five P-8 Poseidon aircraft, but none of them were seen in the area on the day of the explosion – September 26, 2022.

A US Navy P-8 aircraft was spotted in the area, but that aircraft only arrived 90 minutes after the first blast occurred! So it could not have been the P-8 aircraft that triggered the explosions as Hersh claimed.

Fact #5 : Both Nord Stream 1 + 2 Were Not Operational

It is true that both US Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden were against the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, and President Biden threatened to “end Nord Stream” if Russian invaded Ukraine.

However, Nord Stream 2 never became operational, after Germany suspended its certification on 22 February 2022 – two days before Russia invaded Ukraine.

More importantly, Russia cut or interrupted gas supplies on Nord Stream 1, before shutting it down completely in the months following its invasion of Ukraine:

June 2022 : Russia cut Nord Stream 1 gas supply by 75%.
July 2022 : Russia shut down Nord Stream 1 for 10 days. It reopened at 12.5% of normal capacity.
August 2022 : Russia shut down Nord Stream 1 completely.

Both Nord Stream pipelines had long ceased to supply Europe with gas, long before explosions tore holes in them. There is simply no advantage for the Americans to destroy two pipelines that were no longer supplying Europe with gas.

Fact #6 : Europe Refused To Resume Gas Supply

Only three of the four gas pipelines were destroyed by the explosions, with Pipe B of Nord Stream 2 surviving. Russia offered to resume gas supply to Europe, which was promptly declined.

The refusal shows that Europe itself is eager to wean itself off Russian gas, and not because of earlier US threats to “end Nord Stream”.

The Americans did not have to destroy the Nord Stream pipelines, because Russia’s own actions in disrupting gas supplies and invading Ukraine already did that for them.

Fact #7 : Many Countries Had Plausible Reasons To Destroy Nord Stream

As far as plausible reasons go, many countries had plausible reasons to destroy the Nord Stream pipelines:

US : To prevent allies in Europe from being held hostage by their reliance on cheap Russian gas.
UK : To encourage allies in Europe to support Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion.
Russia : To stop supplying Europe without breaking its gas supply contracts, and/or to divide Europe.
Ukraine : To unite Europe against Russia.

While motive is important, it is not evidence that a country has committed the crime. There has to be actual evidence that the US / UK / Russia / Ukraine did it.

Regardless of what CGTN or Seymour Hersh may claim, there is simply no conclusive evidence YET that any of those countries are responsible for the destruction of the Nord Stream gas pipelines.

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He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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Is Hungary Prosecuting George Soros For Holocaust?!

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Is Hungary preparing to prosecute George Soros for Holocaust atrocities?!

Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!

Claim : Hungary Prepares To Prosecute George Soros For Holocaust Atrocities!

People are sharing a NewsPunch article that claims that the Hungary is preparing to prosecute “lifelong Nazi” George Soros for Holocaust atrocities!

Here is an excerpt from the very long article, so feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!

Hungary Prepares To Prosecute ‘Lifelong Nazi’ George Soros For Holocaust Atrocities

Hungarian prosecutors are preparing charges against 92-year-old Hungarian-American financier George Soros for aiding and abetting the murder of thousands of Hungarians during the Nazi occupation during World War II.

Soros is set to be charged with “knowingly and willfully” aiding and abetting the murder of Jewish Hungarians in Budapest from September 1942 to January 1943, according to a source in the prosecutor’s office in Budapest, Hungary.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s administration have been seeking justice for historical crimes committed by Hungarian Nazi collaborators and Soros is understood to have been using his vast resources to “hide in plain sight” for decades.

Prime Minister Orban has been warning about Soros’ corrosive influence on society for decades. “Europe must not succumb to the Soros network,” wrote Orbán recently.

Soros was born to a Jewish family in Hungary in 1930, and survived the Holocaust by collaborating with the Nazis. He has expressed a total lack of remorse for his actions, telling 60 Minutes in 1988 that if he didn’t do it, somebody else would have anyway.

Soros was been missing since at least March 5, shortly after news leaked about the impending charges. He was expected to attend a conference on his recent work on African education however he did not arrive.

The prosecution considers Soros fit to stand trial despite his advanced age, the prosecutor’s office said, however the case will be on hold until he is arrested.

Soros founded the Open Society Foundation in 1993 to help promote far-left values and open borders around the world. Laura Silber, a spokesperson for the foundation, told USA TODAY that the claim Soros aided and abetted Nazis is “100% false.”

US-based fact checkers have regularly defended Soros from claims that he was a Nazi during his teenage years. However, these same fact checkers are funded in part or wholly by Soros and they have failed to identify this conflict of interest while reporting on Soros.

Show less

Truth : Hungary Is Not Prosecuting George Soros For Holocaust Atrocities

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created and propagated by NewsPunch, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : NewsPunch Is A Fake News Website

Like Real Raw News, NewPunch is a FAKE NEWS website that capitalises on making shocking but fake stories to generate page views and money.

It was founded as Your News Wire in 2014, before being rebranded as NewsPunch in November 2018. A 2017 BuzzFeed report identified NewsPunch as the second-largest source of popular fake news spread on Facebook that year.

Their articles have been regularly debunked as fake news, so you should NEVER share anything from NewsPunch. Here are some of their fake stories that I personally debunked earlier:

Fact #2 : No Evidence Hungary Is Prosecuting George Soros For Any Crime

There is ZERO EVIDENCE that Hungarian prosecutors are preparing to prosecute George Soros for any crime.

NewsPunch certainly offered no evidence to back up its claims that Hungarian prosecutors are preparing to prosecute George Soros for Holocaust atrocities.

The Hungarian government and media certainly made no mention of any legal action against George Soros, an American citizen who lives in New York.

Fact #3 : George Soros Was A Jewish Child During World War 2

The claim that George Soros is a lifelong Nazi who collaborated with them in World War 2 is laughably false.

George Soros (born György Schwarz on August 13, 1930) was only 9 years old when World War 2 broke out in Europe. On top of that, he was a Jew!

To protect themselves from antisemitism, his family changed their name from the German-Jewish name of Schwartz to Soros, which meant “next in line” in Hungarian. His family only survived the war by purchasing documents that declared them as “Christians”.

As a Jewish child, George Soros had to pose as the Christian godson of a Hungarian government official. He would personally witness the confiscation of Jewish property, calling it a very personal experience of evil.

Fact #4 : Tivadar Soros Saved Other Hungarian Jews

It is also ridiculous to claim that George Soros collaborated with Nazis, when his father, Tivadar Soros, was notable for helping to save other Hungarian Jews.

When George Soros was 13 years old, the Jewish Council asked kids like him to hand out deportation notices. His father recognised the list for what it really was, and asked George to warn them.

The Jewish Council asked the little kids to hand out the deportation notices. I was told to go to the Jewish Council. And there I was given these small slips of paper … I took this piece of paper to my father. He instantly recognized it. This was a list of Hungarian Jewish lawyers. He said, ‘You deliver the slips of paper and tell the people that if they report they will be deported.’ I’m not sure to what extent he knew they were going to be gassed. I did what my father said.

George Soros would later call 1944 as “the happiest [year] of his life” because it gave him the opportunity to witness his father’s heroism.

Fact #5 : Nazi Germany Only Occupied Hungary In 1944

The claim that George Soros “knowingly and willfully” collaborated with Nazis, and aided and abetted the murder of Jewish Hungarians in Budapest from September 1942 to January 1943 is easily proven false.

Not only was he a child (as mentioned above), the Nazis only occupied Hungary in March 1944. So he could not possibly have aided the Nazis in killing Jews in Budapest 1-2 years earlier.

Fact #6 : George Soros Is Vehemently Anti-Nazi

It is ludicrous for people to claim that George Soros is a lifelong Nazi, when he is a Jewish survivor of Nazi occupation of Hungary in World War 2, who personally witnessed other Jews getting taken away to be killed.

Since then, he has been a supporter of progressive and liberal political causes, which he supports through his Open Society Foundations. He has personally influenced the Fall of Communism In Eastern Europe.

He has donated billions on philanthropy promoting democracy and good governance, which makes him unpopular amongst nationalists and populists, who often create and/or spread conspiracy theories about him, including labelling him as a Nazi, amongst other things.

Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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Did Russia Destroy NATO Jets, Helicopters In Ukraine?!

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Did Russia just destroy NATO jet fighters and helicopters that were sent to help Ukraine?!

Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!

Updated @ 2023-02-27 : Added more details
Originally posted @ 2022-05-22

Claim : Russia Just Destroyed NATO Jets + Helicopters In Ukraine!

People are sharing a video created by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), which claim to be evidence of NATO jet fighters and helicopters being shot down by Russia while trying to help Ukraine.

The video has an overlay that says, “Only China has the privilege to watch the live video, not even the western countries and the world.“, and it is accompanied by this message :

☝️Nato sent their jet fighter & Helicopter to help Ukraine, as soon as they entered the border, they were attacked by the Russian missile. not a single one escaped. only the Chinese media reported that news, non in the West.
☝️Nato 战机jet fighter & Helicopter 去幇助鸟克兰一进入边畍就被俄羅斯飞彈打的一个都跑不掉, 只有中國媒體才能報導西方沒有。

Truth : Russia Did Not Destroy NATO Jets + Helicopters In Ukraine!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created by Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), and spread by pro-CCP and pro-Russian netizens and groups.

Fact #1 : That Video Was From A Video Game

The viral video does not show actual combat in Ukraine. It is really nothing more than a compilation of two gameplay videos from the game, ArmA 3.

ArmA 3, which is also known as ArmA III or Armed Assault 3, is an open-world, military tactical shooter game by Bohemia Interactive.

The first half of the video was cropped from an ArmA 3 video called “Combat Helicopter shot down by Missile – 4 Tanks Blown Up – Milsim – ArmA 3” – from 0:11 to 2:08, cutting off just before the videos says “Subscribe for more!“.

Fact #2 : The Original Video Is Blocked In China

Ironically, the original ArmA 3 gameplay videos that the viral fake video used are hosted on YouTube, which is blocked in China.

So the overlay claiming that “only China has the privilege to watch the live video” is not only false, it is a sad reminder of the censorship in China.

The truth is – only people in China have the “privilege” of being lied to using a fake video that is easily available to the rest of the world.

Fact #3 : That Was A Russian Helicopter

We can’t tell what anti-aircraft missiles were fired at the beginning of the video, but we can easily see that they were fired at a Russian helicopter.

Anyone who watched a Rambo movie or two would easily recognise the distinctive shape of the Soviet Union’s “flying tank” – the Mil Mi-24 helicopter, which is also known as Mi-25 or Mi-35. Whatever may be the case, that was not a Western helicopter!

Fact #4 : That Was A Russian Tank

At around 1:00 of the video, it zooms in into a tank before it is destroyed by a missile.

The tank profile is also easily recognisable as a Russian tank, most likely the T-80 main battle tank.

For certain, that is not the side profile of any Western tank in existence!

Fact #5 : That Was An American TOW Missile

At around the 1:44 mark in the fake video, you can see that the soldier and the missile launcher that destroyed one of the tanks.

That is the M220 launcher for the American TOW BGM-71E anti-tank missile, not a Russian missile launcher.

In other words – the video does not show Russian forces destroying NATO tanks and helicopters. It actually shows US forces in the ArmA 3 game shooting down Russian tanks and helicopters.

Here is a comparison of the screenshot (left) and the frontal aspect of the same TOW missile launcher in the ArmA 3 game.

Fact #6 : There Are No NATO Forces In Ukraine

NATO Allied Land Command confirmed that “there are no NATO forces or leaders in Ukraine in any capacity“.

While NATO nations are sending financial and military aid to Ukraine, no NATO soldiers or leaders are deployed to the country.

So the claim that NATO sent jets and helicopters to help Ukraine fight off the Russian invasion is false.

Fact #7 : NATO Refused To Send Aircraft Into Ukraine

NATO also repeatedly refused to create a No-Fly Zone over Ukraine, despite President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pleading for one.

That’s partly because the anti-aircraft missiles NATO countries supplied have successfully prevented Russia from achieving any kind of air superiority in Ukraine.

NATO has also publicly stated that they want to avoid a direct confrontation with Russia, which could lead to a continent-wide conflict.

That is also why they refused to send Ukraine jet fighters to replace those destroyed by Russian attacks.

The claim that NATO is sending jet fighters and helicopters to help Ukraine is bullshit.

Please watch out for similar fake news created by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛)!

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He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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Are Nazis From Japan Fighting For Ukraine?!

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Are Nazis from Japan fighting for Ukraine against Russia?!

Take a look at the viral photos, and find out what the facts really are!

Claim : Nazis From Japan Are Fighting For Ukraine Against Russia!

The Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) and pro-CCP netizens are sharing photos of what they suggest are Nazis from Japan in Ukraine, helping to fight against Russia!

Japanese Nazis are fighting in Ukraine

Team Japanese in Ukraine

Anarchy is alive and in Ukraine

Note : I placed the misleading overlay to prevent the photos from being further abused.

Truth : Nazis From Japan Are Not Fighting For Ukraine Against Russia!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created and propagated by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), and pro-CCP netizens, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : Photos Are Unrelated

After investigating the viral screenshot, I was able to confirm that they consist of two sets of photos that are unrelated.

The first set of photos, which show four soldiers in Ukraine, was posted by @rattionyade on February 10, 2023.

The second photo is completely unrelated to the first set of photos, and was posted by @xenovampiro (as well as other people) on February 12, 2023.

Fact #2 : Rising Sun Flag Is Not Japanese Nazi Flag

The Rising Sun flag is not the Japanese version of Germany’s Nazi flag. This is actually the Imperial Japanese Navy ensign called Jyūrokujō-Kyokujitsu-ki (十六条旭日旗) that was adopted on May 15, 1870 – over 150 years ago!

The Imperial Japanese Navy used it until the end of World War 2 in 1945. However, it was readopted and has been used by the Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force on all its ships since June 30, 1954.

Fact #3 : Japanese Nazi Flag Photo Was From 2014

The photo showing men carrying Japanese Rising Sun and Nazi Germany flags was not taken recently, or even in Ukraine.

It is unknown who took this photo, but it was possibly a photographer from the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun, as the photo was posted by Asahi Shimbun editorial board member Itaru Tominaga (@tanutinn) on Twitter on August 2, 2015, with the description:

東京での日本の国家主義者のデモンストレーション。
彼らは安倍首相と彼の保守的な政治を支持している。

Japanese nationalist demonstration in Tokyo. They are supporting PM Abe and his conservative administration.

On further investigation, I found out that Tominaga deleted the tweet because it was misleading when he posted it – it was taken almost a year ago, on April 20, 2014 – the 125th anniversary of the birth of Adolf Hitler.

On that day, about 40 Japanese protestors marched through the busy entertainment area of the Ikebukuro district of Tokyo, bellowing racist chants about South Korea and China. While the Asahi Shimbun article is no longer available online, you can download a copy here.

In short – this viral photo was taken in Tokyo, Japan, on 20 April 2014, and had nothing to do with Ukraine or the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Fact #4 : Ukraine Has Foreign Volunteer Battalions Since 2014

Informal volunteer military groups were formed in spring 2014, from local militias and paramilitary groups, in response to the Russian military intervention in Ukraine.

The Ukraine Ministry of Defence later formed 32 volunteer battalions called “Territorial Defence Battalions”, and the Ukrainian parliament voted on 6 October 2014 to allow foreign fighters to join the military. In December 2014, President Petro Poroshenko promising Ukrainian citizenship to foreign fighters who signed up to fight.

Ironically, volunteers from Russia formed the largest group of foreign fighters in Ukraine! Even before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, about 3,000 Russian citizens signed up to fight for Ukraine.

Fact #5 : Volunteers From 60 Countries Now Fighting For Ukraine

In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the Ukrainian government established the International Legion of Territorial Defence of Ukraine.

By 6 March 2022, more than 20,000 volunteers from 52 countries signed up to fight for Ukraine against the Russian invasion. So it would not be surprising to find volunteers from Japan fighting for Ukraine.

@rattionyade, who posted the viral photo on the left, appears to be one of the Japanese volunteers fighting for Ukraine, as he often posts about his life in Ukraine.

Back in November 2022, it was revealed that volunteers from 60 countries are now fighting for Ukraine. Here are some of the units that were formed from those volunteers:

Canadian Brigade : Ukrainian-Canadian volunteers, including former servicemen from Canada
Norman Brigade : veterans from Canada, the United Kingdom, United States, Denmark, Norway, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, France, South Africa, and Poland.
Freedom of Russia Legion : former servicemen of the Russian Armed Forces, as well as other Russian and Belarusian volunteers.
Russian Volunteer Corps : formed from Russian volunteers who have been fighting for Ukraine since 2014.
Dzhokhar Dudayev Battalion : Mostly Chechen volunteers who fought in the First Chechen War and Second Chechen War against Russia.
Pahonia Regiment : Belarusian volunteers

Fact #6 : Russia Also Has Foreign Volunteer Forces

Foreigners have also signed up to fight on the Russian side, either as members of the Russian diaspora, for ideological reasons, or as mercenaries hired by the Russian government.

Serbian foreign fighters : International Brigade, Seventh Brigade, Serbian-Hussar Regiment, Ural Unit, First Slavic Unit, Batman Unit, Rezanj Unit, Jovan Šević Detachment
Spanish foreign fighters : Carlos Palomino International Brigade, DKO (Volunteer Communist Unit), Interunit
White nationalists, neo-Nazis, fascists and Christian extremists from Europe and North America : Continental Unity, Orthodox Dawn Battalion, Legion of Saint Istvan.
Syrian Arab Army : 25th Special Mission Forces Division

Fact #7 : This Is Just Chinese Propaganda

This appears to be yet another example of Chinese propaganda created by the infamous Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), or pro-CCP netizens.

Here is just the latest dozen the other wumao articles and videos that I looked at so far:

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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Did FedEx + Southwest Jets Almost Collide In Video?!

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Did a FedEx cargo plane and a Southwest Airlines jet almost collide in a viral video?!

Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!

Claim : Video Shows FedEx + Southwest Jets Almost Colliding!

People are sharing a video clip that claims to show a FedEx cargo plane and a Southwest Airlines jet almost colliding!

This is video from the FedEx – Southwest runway incident from last week.

If this doesn’t make you tense up and cringe nothing will. The people on that SouthWest flight have no clue how close to death they came.

Insane.

Real incident at Austin Feb 4, 2023.
Fedex 😱 Southwest Airlines. Near Miss!

Truth : FedEx + Southwest Jet Near Collision Video Is From Game!

This is yet another example of MISINFORMATION circulating on WhatsApp, and social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

Fact #1 : FedEx + Southwest Jets Did Almost Collide

First, let me confirm that a FedEx cargo plane and a Southwest Airlines jet did almost collide on Saturday, February 4, 2023.

In that incident, air traffic controllers at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport cleared an arriving FedEx Boeing 767 cargo plane to lane, while simultaneously clearing a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 to take off using the same runway!

Air traffic controllers first cleared the Southwest Airlines jet to take-off from runway 18 Left, when the FedEx jet was 3.2 nautical miles (6 km) away.

When the FedEx jet was 2.19 nautical miles (4 km) from the airport, controllers told the FedEx crew to land on the same 18 Left runway.

The FedEx crew later realised that they were about to overfly the Southwest plane, and quickly aborted their landing while telling the Southwest crew to abort their takeoff.

According to Jennifer Homendy, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the two planes almost collided, with a separation of “less than 100 feet (30 metres)”.

I’m very proud of the FedEx flight crew and that pilot. They saved, in my view, 128 people from a potential catastrophe. It was very close, and we believe less than 100 feet.

The near catastrophe apparently happened because the Austin airport is not equipped with Airport Surface Detection Equipment (ASDE). Air traffic controller could see the FedEx jet on radar, but could not see the Southwest Airlines jet taxiing on the ground.

The ASDE system was important in preventing a runway collision in January 2023, between taxiing and departing aircraft at New York’s John F. Kennedy airport.

BREAKING: FedEx cargo plane narrowly misses crashing into Southwest Airlines plane taxiing on runway at Austin International Airport, Texas pic.twitter.com/2KF0ifokRF

— Intel Point Alert (@IntelPointAlert) February 5, 2023

Fact #2 : That Video Was From A Video Game

While the incident was real, the video isn’t real. The video was created using the 2020 computer game, Microsoft Flight Simulator by Monster21 who posted it on YouTube and TikTok.

On his YouTube channel, Monster21 explicitly pointed out that the video was created on Microsoft Flight Simulator, with the title, “Real incident at Austin on Microsoft Flight Simulator“.

On TikTok though, he posted it with a shorter title of “Real incident at Austin Feb 4th 2023“, but did include a #microsoftflightsimulator2020 hashtag.

Unfortunately, it is being shared as if the video is genuine, just like these other videos created by computer games:

Fact #3 : Video Does Not Accurately Simulate The Event

While the video creator was simulating the close call between the FedEx and Southwest jets based on flight data, it isn’t an accurate depiction.

The video showed that it was a bright and clear day. That’s not accurate because the incident happened at around 6:50 AM. Dawn only broke at 6:55 AM in Austin, Texas on February 4, 2023.

There was also fog at the airport that day. So it would have been rather dark and foggy at the same time, with poor visibility.

That would explain why the FedEx crew did not spot the spot the Southwest jet lining up on the runway much earlier.

https://www.techarp.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/FedEx-Southwest-planes-close-call-fake-video.mp4?_=1

Fact #4 : Audio Was Genuine, But Edited

While the video is not real and is just a simulation, the audio recording is genuine albeit edited.

The air traffic control audio recording was made available through Live ATC of Austin-Bergstrom Airport’s traffic control, and began at around 6:47 AM.

The full audio recording lasts just over 6 minutes, but was edited to just over 2 minutes by Haemaker to remove dead spots. As he noted – “It did NOT happen this fast“.

The video used the shorter, edited Haemaker audio recording, so it sounds more dramatic than what really happened in real life. Here is how USA Today explains the audio recording:

The FedEx pilot asks the tower if the plane is confirmed to land, to which the controller responds yes and lets the pilot know about the Southwest flight taking off.

About 30 seconds later, the controller asks the Southwest flight to confirm if it is “on the roll.” To which the pilot immediately responds, “Rolling now.”

After about 20 seconds of silence, the tower says, “Southwest abort. FedEx is on the go.”

There’s no response, and nearly nine seconds later, the tower tells the Southwest flight to turn right when able. Southwest immediately responds by saying, “Negative.”

The tower comes back about 17 seconds later and tells the FedEx pilot to climb and maintain 3,000 feet and turn left, which the pilot confirms upon receiving the instruction.

Near the end of the recording, after the FedEx plane has landed and said it cleared the runway, the tower apologizes to the pilot and thanks them for their professionalism.

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Did Russia Destroy NATO Arms Convoy To Ukraine?!

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Did Russia just destroy a NATO convoy of tanks, armoured vehicles, and other armaments destined for Ukraine?!

Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!

Claim : Russia Just Destroyed NATO Arms Convoy To Ukraine!

People are sharing seven short video clips, which claim to show Russian forces quickly destroying a NATO convoy of tanks, armoured vehicles, and other armaments destined for Ukraine?!

The video clips are being shared with this message:

Russia attack arms aid by NATO to Ukraine 🇺🇦

Truth : Russia Did Not Destroy NATO Arms Convoy To Ukraine!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created by the Russians, or the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), and spread by pro-CCP and pro-Russian netizens and groups.

Fact #1 : That Video Was From A Video Game

The viral video clips do not show any actual combat in Ukraine. They are merely gameplay videos from the computer game, ArmA 3.

ArmA 3, which is also known as ArmA III or Armed Assault 3, is an open-world, military tactical shooter game by Bohemia Interactive.

I’ll admit – this wasn’t easy to confirm, as the viral video clips were small. Hunting down the original video took considerable time and effort, but with a little luck, I found it!

The seven video clips appear to be edited from a YouTube video called Ukrainian soldier Blow up a pontoon bridge with Russian Military Convoy – Arma 3 by USF WARRIOR.

Here is one example of the seven video clips, so you can see how realistic (or not) it looks.

https://www.techarp.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Russia-destroy-NATO-arms-convoy-fake-video-example.mp4?_=2

Fact #2 : That Was An American TOW Missile

In the example video I posted above, you can see the outline of a missile launcher. That is not a Russian missile launcher, but the M220 launcher for the American TOW BGM-71E anti-tank missile.

In other words – the video does not show Russian forces destroying a NATO convoy of tanks and other armoured vehicles. It actually shows Ukrainian forces using American weapons to destroy a Russian convoy in the ArmA 3 game.

Here is a comparison of the screenshot of the viral video (right) and a screenshot of the same TOW missile launcher (left) in the ArmA 3 game.

Interesting fact : the screenshot on the left is actually from another fake ArmA 3 video created but the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛).

Fact #3 : Those Are Russian Mil Mi-17 Helicopters

Understandably, it’s not easy to locate the original video. But even if you are not able to confirm that this was an Arma 3 gameplay video, any military buff or gamer would have quickly realised how ridiculous the claims are.

For example, these are Russian Mil Mi-17 helicopters. Some NATO countries like Czechoslovakia, Lithuania and Latvia used to own and operate them, but they should have long been disposed of.

Fact #4 : Those Are Russian Mil Mi-28N Helicopters

While it may be plausible for NATO countries to source and perhaps supply Ukraine with old Mi-17 helicopters, it would be impossible for them to supply Ukraine with these Russian Mil Mi-28N “Havoc” helicopters!

Only four countries have access to these Havoc helicopters – Russia, Iraq, Algeria and Uganda. NATO countries, even those who were formerly part of the Soviet Union, do not have these helicopters.

So it would be impossible for NATO to provide Ukraine with Mil Mi-28N helicopters.

Fact #5 : Those Are Russian BTR-80 Armoured Personnel Carriers

Those are Russian BTR-80 armoured personnel carriers. Granted, they are rather ubiquitous, with many examples worldwide.

However, the only NATO member with an abundance of these armoured personnel carriers is Turkey, and Turkey has not announced giving Ukraine any BTR-80s.

So if you see BTR-80s in Ukraine, it’s either Ukrainian or Russian vehicles.

Fact #6 : That Is A Russian 76N6 Clam Shell Radar

That is a Russian 76N6 Clam Shell low altitude search and acquisition radar for the Russian SA-10A/B (S-300) Grumble surface-to-air (SAM) missile system.

While the S-300 SAM system is rather ubiquitous as well, only one NATO member has ever donated an S-300 battery to Ukraine, and that’s Slovakia, which donated its only battery in April 2022.

Since then, no other NATO member country has any operational S-300 systems left. So it would be impossible for NATO to supply these radars together with the SAM missile batteries to Ukraine.

Fact #7 : There Are No NATO Forces In Ukraine

NATO Allied Land Command confirmed that “there are no NATO forces or leaders in Ukraine in any capacity“.

While NATO nations are sending financial and military aid to Ukraine, no NATO soldiers or leaders are deployed to the country.

So the claim that NATO sent a convoy of tanks, armoured vehicles, and other armaments to Ukraine. Any military armaments supplied to Ukraine are transported into Ukraine by the Ukrainians, not NATO forces.

Even such convoys would never be close enough to the frontlines for Russian forces to attack.

Fact #8 : This Is Just Another Example of Pro-Russian Propaganda

This is yet another example of pro-Russian propaganda. Here are some other examples I fact checked in the past:

Please watch out for similar fake news created by Russia and the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛)!

Help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and support our work!

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Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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Does Video Show F-22 Shooting China Spy Balloon?!

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Does a viral video show a close-up of the F-22 Raptor fighter jet shooting down the spy balloon from China?!

Take a look at the viral video, and find out what the facts really are!

Viral Video : Close-Up Of F-22 Shooting Spy Balloon From China!

This video is going viral on WhatsApp and social media platform, claiming to show a close-up of the F-22 Raptor fighter jet shooting down the spy balloon from China.

Screenshots of the video showing the F-22 fighter jet firing a missile at the spy balloon have also been used in some editorials in pro-CCP websites, and even a Falun Gong-affiliated website!

Truth : Viral Video Of F-22 Shooting Down Spy Balloon Is From Game!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS circulating on WhatsApp and social media platforms, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : F-22 Shoot Down Audio Is Genuine

First, I should point out that the audio in the video is genuine, and accurately depicts the communication between the F-22 pilots and Huntress (NORAD’s Eastern Air Defense Sector Controller) on an open channel that anyone can listen to.

The audio clip was apparently recorded by Ken Harrell, a 68 year-old retiree and aviation hobbyist, who was listening in. This was confirmed by US Air Force spokesperson Ann Stefanek:

The audio is authentic and depicts communication from the 1st Fighter Wing pilot confirming the aerial target was destroyed. It’s important to clarify this audio is communication between the pilot and air traffic control that can be heard by anyone on the same frequency

https://www.techarp.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Fake-video-of-F-22-firing-missile-at-Chinese-spy-balloon.mp4?_=3

Fact #2 : Audio Subtitles Are Wrong

However, the subtitles are mangled and at least partly wrong. Here is an abridged transcript of the audio communication between the F-22 pilots and air traffic control (Huntress) during the spy balloon shoot-down.

HUNTRESS : Five miles offshore.

FRANK01 : Frank One is switches hot.

FRANK02 : Frank Two is switches hot.

…..

HUNTRESS : HUNTRESS. Six miles offshore.

FRANK01 : FRANK01. Splash one! TOI 1.

HUNTRESS : HUNTRESS copy. Splash.

EAGLE02 : That is a t-kill. The balloon is completely destroyed.

EAGLE01 : There appears to be metal chaff cloud. It’s definitely metal breaking apart. Screen for an altitude check.

Fact #3 : Viral Video Was Edited From Game Video!

I traced the viral video to a YouTube channel called Growling Sidewinder, which posted the original video on 6 February 2023.

It appears that someone edited Growling Sidewinder’s video to remove the title sequence at the beginning, and the credit at the end, before sharing it on WhatsApp and social media.

Growling Sidewinder clearly stated that the video used the real audio recording, but the video itself was recreated using Digital Combat Simulator (DCS) – a flight simulation game released in 2008 by Eagle Dynamics and The Fighter Collection.

Last year, I fact checked a viral video purportedly depicting Russian forces shooting down NATO jets and helicopters. In that example, the fake news creator used footage from the video game, ArmA 3 (Armed Assault 3).

Fact #4 : F-22 Fired At A Long Distance

When I watched the video, I immediately knew that it was fake, because it showed the F-22 engaging the Chinese spy balloon at about the same altitude, and at a very short distance.

What many people may not realise is that the F-22 fighter jet fired its AIM-9X Sidewinder missile at a considerable distance away from the spy balloon. This was confirmed by numerous videos recorded by the public from a distance.

In addition, we also know that the F-22 fighter jet was only able to attain an altitude of 58,000 feet, while the Chinese spy balloon was much higher – at about 65,000 feet. The Chinese spy balloon was floating approximately 7,000 feet (2.1 km) above the F-22 fighter jet!

Based on the audio transcript, it took about 7 seconds for the Sidewinder missile, which travels at over Mach 2.5, to hit the spy balloon, roughly placing the F-22 about 6 kilometres away from the balloon when it fired the missile.

Fact #5 : The Spy Balloon Did Not Explode

If you watch the publicly released videos of the AIM-9X missile hitting the spy balloon – and there are many, you would quickly realise that the viral video is fake, because it showed a large explosion.

The actual videos only show black and white smoke when the missile exploded next to the spy balloon’s payload.

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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Did US Paint Chinese Balloon Kill On F-22 Fighter Jet?!

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Did the US Air Force paint a balloon kill on the F-22 fighter jet that shot down the Chinese spy balloon?!

Take a look at the viral photo, and find out what the facts really are!

Claim : US Painted Chinese Balloon Kill On F-22 Fighter Jet!

Pro-CCP netizens are either mocking or criticising the US Air Force for painting a balloon kill on the F-22 fighter jet that shot down the Chinese spy balloon!

美军F-22战斗机创造了当今最高高度空中击杀记录：6万5千英尺。
据说回来后还给飞机纹了个图案纪念战功，你们说气人不？

The U.S. F-22 fighter jet has created the current record for the highest altitude air kill: 65,000 feet. It is said that after returning, he even tattooed a pattern on the plane to commemorate the military exploits. Don’t you think it is annoying?

Well here it is the #Balloon decal 😁

五毛：高射炮打蚊子‼️

北京时间2月5日03:39，从美国弗吉尼亚州兰利空军基地起飞的一架F-22战斗机，在近18000米（58000英尺）高度发射的一枚价值约40万美元的AIM-9X“响尾蛇”红外制导空空导弹，击落了一个在20000米左右（65000英尺）高度飞行的价值数百美元的中共高空气球，气球残骸随后坠落于南卡罗来纳州近海海域。

Fifty cents: anti-aircraft weapon hit mosquitoes‼ ️

At 03:39 on February 5, Beijing time, an F-22 fighter jet that took off from Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, USA, launched an AIM-9X worth about 400,000 US dollars at an altitude of nearly 18,000 meters (58,000 feet). The “Sidewinder” infrared-guided air-to-air missile shot down a CCP high-altitude balloon worth hundreds of dollars flying at an altitude of about 20,000 meters (65,000 feet), and the balloon wreckage then fell in the waters off the coast of South Carolina.

Truth : US Did Not Paint Chinese Balloon Kill On F-22 Fighter Jet!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created and propagated by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), and pro-CCP netizens, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : It Was First Official F-22 Air-to-Air Kill

First, we need to acknowledge that the shooting down of the Chinese spy balloon was officially the first air-to-air kill for the F-22 Raptor fighter jet.

Although the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor entered US Air Force service in December 2005, it has not engaged in any air-to-air combat. Its combat sorties had so far consisted of very limited bombing missions in the Middle East.

So shooting down the Chinese spy balloon was the first time the F-22 was “blooded” in air combat, albeit against an easy target that could not manoeuvre to evade, or fire back.

I mention this point because it is entirely possible and legitimate for the pilot to paint a balloon kill on his F-22 fighter jet.

Fact #2 : Viral Photo Was Edited From 2020 Photo

While it is possible that the F-22 fighter jet that shot down the Chinese spy balloon may sport a kill marking of some sort, there was no official release of any photo of such a kill marking or decal.

What I can confirm is that the viral photo was edited, by painting a white balloon onto a photo originally posted by the Edwards Air Force Base on April 3, 2020.

Here is a photo comparison I created, showing the Edwards Air Force Base Facebook post, and the fake viral photo.

Fact #3 : FRANK01 Flew From Langley Air Force Base

The viral photo shows an F-22 Raptor flown by Major Brandon Burfeind from the 411th Flight Test Squadron, based out of Edwards Air Force Base in California. His F-22 fighter jet has a fuselage number 007, and the airframe number 91-4007.

The F-22 Raptor that shot down the Chinese spy balloon was flown by an unnamed pilot using the callsign FRANK01, from the Langley Air Force Base in Virginia.

While we do not know the name or rank of the FRANK01 pilot yet, his F-22 fighter jet is definitely not the same as the one shown in the viral photo, as he is based on a different USAF base in a different state.

Interesting note : The FRANK01 callsign is an apparent homage to World War I Medal of Honor recipient First Lieutenant Frank Luke Jr., who is known as the “Arizona Balloon Buster” for shooting down 14 German balloons, as well as four planes.

Fact #4 : This Is Just Chinese Propaganda

This appears to be yet another example of Chinese propaganda created by the infamous Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), or pro-CCP netizens.

All of the wumao articles and videos that I looked at so far have proven to be false… at every instance. So please watch out for such false claims.

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Can You Buy China Spy Balloon On Alibaba For $18?!

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Can you buy the infamous spy balloon from China on Alibaba for just RMB 118 / $18?!

Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!

Claim : You Can Buy China Spy Balloon On Alibaba For $18!

Pro-CCP netizens are trying to push the narrative that the infamous spy balloon from China is really a cheap weather balloon that anyone can buy from Alibaba!

They are sharing a screenshot of an Alibaba store on WhatsApp and social media platforms, claiming that you can buy the same “spy balloon” for just RMB 118 / $18!

You can buy this balloon to scare the US for 118 RMB.. warning fighter jets might be sent to shoot it down..

Truth : You Cannot Buy China Spy Balloon On Alibaba For $18!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created and propagated by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) or pro-CCP netizens, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : Chinese Balloon Was Not A Weather Balloon

First, let us start with a basic fact – the US Air Force shot down a spy balloon from China, not a weather balloon.

Weather balloons are common – thousands are launched daily across the world to collect information on the temperature, wind and moisture in the upper atmosphere.

Weather balloons are not very large – expanding from 6 feet (1.8 metres) to 20 feet (6 metres) in diameter as they rise in altitude. Their payloads are also small, consisting of a small box with a few sensors.

The Chinese spy balloon that the US Air Force shot down was not only much larger at around 90 feet (27.5 metres) wide, it also had a very large payload that included large solar panels, and even propellers to control its movement.

Real weather balloons also do not travel far – they generally go up to a high altitude and stay there. Spy balloons, on the other hand, need to travel long distances. This Chinese balloon travelled thousands of kilometres from China to Alaska to Canada, before reaching the continental United States.

Fact #2 : RMB 118 Weather Balloon Is Small

I traced the viral photo to this Alibaba store selling latex weather balloons. As expected, the RMB 118 / $18 balloon that pro-CCP netizens were promoting is small…

The store offered four sizes, with slightly elevated prices in US dollars (it’s cheaper in Chinese Yuan):

48 inches (4 feet) : $4.80
72 inches (6 feet) : $6.40
96 inches (8 feet) : $17.80
120 inches (10 feet) : $23.60

As I pointed above, the spy balloon that flew from China all the way to the United States was about 90 feet (27.5 metres) wide. It’s roughly 729X larger than the weather balloon sold on Alibaba!

Fact #3 : Viral Photo Was Edited

The viral photo appears to have been edited, by taking a screenshot of the Alibaba store using a mobile phone, and combining it with a photo of the actual spy balloon from China.

The intent appears to make it look like they are both the same balloon, and are being sold on Alibaba for just RMB 118 / $18.

The truth is – the actual Alibaba store does not show any photos of the spy balloon from China, which has a large payload platform and solar panels.

Instead, the Alibaba store only shows this photo of a latex weather balloon being held by a man – a good indication of just how small it is, compared to the real spy balloon. The other photos in the Alibaba store shows the available balloon sizes, and how much they weigh.

Fact #4 : This Is Just Chinese Propaganda

This is just another example of Chinese propaganda created by the infamous Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), or pro-CCP netizens.

All of the wumao articles and videos that I looked at so far have proven to be false… at every instance. So please watch out for such false claims.

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He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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Why US Shot Down Chinese Spy Balloon With Missile!

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Find out why the US Air Force shot down the Chinese spy balloon using an expensive $400,000 AIM-9X Sidewinder missile!

Claim : US Shot Down Spy Balloon Using Expensive Missile!

Pro-CCP netizens are mocking the US government for shooting down a cheap Chinese weather balloon using an expensive $400,000 AIM-9X Sidewinder missile!

US so panic of a balloon

they sent FOUR (4) fighter jets (2 x F-22s, 2 x F-15s) to “survey the situation”, before firing that $400k AIM-9x Sidewinder A2A missile to shoot the balloon down.

America used a $400,000 missile fired from a $216,000,000 fighter jet to shoot down…

… a weather balloon.

China can just send more balloons….

Why US Shot Down Chinese Spy Balloon With Missile!

This is yet another example of PROPAGANDA created and propagated by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), and pro-CCP netizens, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : There Were Two Chinese Balloons

On Friday, February 3, 2023, China admitted that the massive balloon hovering over the US state of Montana belonged to them, but claimed that it was a weather balloon and not a spy balloon.

Later that same Friday, a second balloon was spotted over Latin America. It took China another 3 days to admit that it was theirs, and another “weather balloon” that was “blown off course”.

Fact #2 : Chinese Balloon Was Not A Weather Balloon

Weather balloons are common – thousands are launched daily across the world to collect information on the temperature, wind and moisture in the upper atmosphere.

The Chinese weather balloon that the US Air Force just shot down is not only much larger at around 90 feet (27.5 metres) wide, it also has a very large payload that includes large solar panels, and even propellers to control its movement.

The kinds of weather balloons that are launched twice a day from Weather Service offices are typically just a little box that has a temperature sensor, relative humidity sensor, pressure sensor and then a little tiny transmitter. Based on the photos that have been going around, there’s obviously a lot more equipment on this one.
– Alexandra Anderson-Frey, Professor of Atmospheric Science at the University of Washington

Real weather balloons also do not travel far – they generally go up to a high altitude and stay there. Spy balloons, on the other hand, need to travel long distances. This Chinese balloon has travelled all the way from China to Alaska to Canada, before reaching the continental United States.

The reported characteristics of this balloon don’t really match anything that we’re familiar with. This has been traveling at a much longer distance than what would be these standard weather balloons.

[Standard weather balloons] go up over one particular place and up to about 50,000 feet in the atmosphere, and then that’s it, they’re done. They don’t travel large distances, so I think that there’s pretty significant differences between typical weather balloons and this reported balloon.
– Jonathan Porter, Chief Meteorologist at Accuweather

Fact #3 : Chinese Balloon Was At Very High Altitude

The US Air Force sent two F-22 Raptor stealth fighters to take down the spy balloon, with two F-15 fighters to probably take videos and photos of the event.

While Chinese netizens may snigger at how the USAF has to use such an expensive fighter jet to shoot down a cheap Chinese balloon, they ignore the fact that the Chinese spy balloon was operating at a very high altitude of about 65,000 feet – that’s 20 km above ground level!

The F-22 Raptor was likely chosen for the task as it was most capable of flying to such a high altitude while loaded with missiles. Many jet fighters have “similar” maximum service ceilings, but their true service ceilings are often much lower, limited by the amount of armament and/or fuel they carry.

Fact #4 : Missile Was Necessary To Shoot Down Balloon

In the end, the F-22 Raptor with the callsign FRANK01 attained an altitude of 58,000 feet (17.7 km) before firing an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile at the balloon. It was the first air-to-air combat kill for the F-22.

While Chinese netizens mocked the use of such an expensive missile, the AIM-9X Sidewinder is the smallest and cheapest air-to-air missile in the USAF arsenal.

It would be impossible for the F-22 Raptor pilot to use its 20 mm M61A2 Vulcan rotary cannon to shoot down the balloon, which is still 7,000 feet (2.1 km) above it!

In case you are wondering – the M61A2 Vulcan has an effective range of only 2,000 feet (600 metres). So a missile was necessary to bring down the Chinese spy balloon, and the AIM-9X was the right tool for the job.

Interestingly, the FRANK callsign may be a reference to World War I Medal of Honor recipient First Lieutenant Frank Luke Jr., who is known as the “Arizona Balloon Buster” for shooting down 14 German balloons, as well as four planes.

Fact #5 : China Breaks International Law With Spy Balloon Overflights

It is ludicrous for anyone to claim that China can keep sending “cheap” spy balloons to trigger the Americans, as every country has “complete and exclusive sovereignty over the airspace above its territory” under international law.

Such acts are therefore violations of international law, and infringements of the sovereignty of the countries that these spy balloons overfly.

That’s why Chinese government keeps claiming that these spy balloons are civilian craft. That is also why the US government has the right to shoot down the spy balloon without asking China for permission.

Fact #6 : Every Fallen Balloon Is An Intelligence Bonanza

In the United States, Republicans are complaining that President Joe Biden was weak in allowing the Chinese spy balloon to fly off the coast of South Carolina before shooting it down on Saturday afternoon, February 4, 2023.

What they don’t tell the people is that President Joe Biden asked the US Air Force to shoot down the spy balloon as soon as it was safe to do so.

On top of that, the US military wanted to retrieve the spy balloon to examine its payload, and the best way to keep the payload intact would be to bring down the balloon over shallow water, instead of land.

In accordance with the President’s direction, the military brought down the balloon within sovereign U.S. airspace and over U.S. territorial waters to protect civilians while maximizing our ability to recover the payload.

On Monday, February 6, 2023, the first parts of the Chinese spy balloon arrived at the FBI headquarters in Quantico, Virginia, for further analysis.

Depending on what they recover, it may be possible to determine what these spy balloons are capable of, what it recorded, and who manufactured its components. The Americans may possibly gain insights into hitherto unknown Chinese technologies.

Instead of mocking the Americans for shooting down a “cheap” spy balloon, perhaps the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) and pro-CCP netizens should worry about what the Americans might find….

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Hunter Brown : Cause Of Death Not Vaccine SADS!

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Did US Air Force Academy cadet Hunter Brown collapse and die suddenly from vaccine SADS, on the way to class?!

Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what Hunter Brown died from, and why it was not vaccine SADS!

Claim : Cadet Hunter Brown Collapsed From Vaccine SADS!

When news broke that US Air Force Academy cadet Hunter Brown suddenly collapsed and died on the way to class, anti-vaccination activists immediately claimed that he died from the COVID-19 vaccine!

We know he had the jab because he had to stay to in the Air Force. This is really getting out of hand…how many more people have to die before these woke pricks shut down this massive deadly vaccine scam?
Air Force football player Hunter Brown dead at 21

Air Force football player Hunter Brown dead at 21
Another healthy young person dies for no reason. Thousands have died this way. I have no proof, but and many, many scientists and doctors think it’s the vaccine.

BREAKING REPORT: Offensive Lineman From Air Force Academy Hunter Brown DIES SUDDENLY While Walking to Class…

When is it ok to ask questions about the vaccine?

Truth : Hunter Brown Did Not Die Suddenly From Vaccine SADS!

It’s now tradition for anti-vaccination activists to immediately blame all athlete deaths or illnesses on the COVID-19 vaccine.

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created and propagated by anti-vaccination activists, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : Cadet Hunter Brown Suffered A Medical Emergency

On Sunday, January 8, 2023, Candyce and Dustin Brown spoke on the phone with their son, cadet Hunter Brown, who was at his dorm, discussing his class schedule for his sophomore year at the the US Air Force Academy.

Hunter was recovering from a foot surgery he underwent two months earlier, to treat a torn ligament he suffered during football practice.

The next day, Hunter Brown experienced a “medical emergency” while leaving his dormitory for class that Monday morning. It was the USAFA cadets’ first day back from their winter break.

A 21 year-old sophomore (second year student) from Lake Charles, Louisiana, Hunter was also an offensive lineman on the US Air Force’s Falcon football team.

First responders attempted live saving measures, but were ultimately unsuccessful. The US Air Force Academy announced his death on Tuesday, January 10, 2023.

With heavy hearts we share the loss of a cadet.

C3C [Cadet Third Class] Hunter Brown died Monday after suffering a medical emergency while on his way to class.

Our thoughts are with his family, friends, teammates and fellow cadets. #NeverForgotten

Lt. Gen. Richard M. Clark, U.S. Air Force Academy Superintendent also issued a statement on Hunter Brown’s death:

Hunter was a standout offensive lineman on the Falcon football team and was well-respected in his squadron.

The entire U.S. Air Force Academy mourns his loss, and our hearts and condolences are with his family, his squadron, and all who were touched by this incredible young man.

Fact #2 : Hunter Brown’s Cause Of Death Was Pulmonary Embolism

Agents of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office secured the area where Hunter Brown collapsed and eventually died. They then conducted an investigation into his death – a standard protocol for any military member who dies on-base.

The El Paso County Coroner’s Office said that Hunter Brown’s autopsy was expected to take several weeks. At the end of January 2023, they told his parents of their preliminary results.

According to the preliminary report, the cause of death for Hunter Brown was pulmonary embolism – blood clots in his lungs. Officials said they found a blood clot in his uninjured leg that was likely to blame for his pulmonary embolism.

The final autopsy result for Hunter Brown has not been released, pending toxicology reports.

Fact #3 : Hunter Brown’s Parents Spoke Out Against Conspiracy Theories

Hunter Brown’s parents spoke up against the conspiracy theories about his death. His mother, Candyce said:

He had a surgery two months before, but we don’t want to feed into any conspiracies. We also still have our personal questions about why, but it wasn’t put out there that he had surgery. No one knew that.

They told Military.com that they didn’t appreciate members of the public speculating about the cause of his sudden death, when they did not know the official cause, and didn’t have the recent context of his recent foot surgery.

Fact #4 : Hunter Brown’s Sister Said He Didn’t Die From Vaccine

Hunter Brown’s sister, Hannah, recently said publicly that her brother’s death was not due to a “jab”, in response to yet another callous post about his death.

Please take this down now. It wasn’t due to a “jab”. This isn’t political and we are hurting.

Fact #5 : Hunter Brown Was Vaccinated Against COVID-19

Despite claims that he was “forced” to get vaccinated, it was initially unknown if Hunter Brown was ever vaccinated against COVID-19.

Hunter Brown was a sophomore (second year) student at the United States Air Force Academy, which does not have a vaccine mandate for students. The Department of Defense only had a vaccine mandate for service members, not cadets.

On August 30, 2021, the United States Air Force Academy held a vaccination point of distribution for cadets to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in line with the guidance from the Secretary of Defense. Department of Defense guidance is that only vaccines fully licensed by the FDA are mandated for service members.

Currently, no administrative or disciplinary actions will be taken against cadets who do not receive the vaccine. Service-level policies, when released, determine what, if any, actions will be taken.

It was only on January 27, 2023, that his family confirmed to Military.com that he was vaccinated against COVID-19.

Fact #6 : Claims Of Athletes Injured By COVID-19 Vaccine Proven False

This is yet another example of anti-vaccination activists abusing athlete deaths / injuries to create and propagate FAKE NEWS about the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines.

So far, claims of athlete deaths / injuries due to the COVID-19 vaccine have been proven false at every instance. Here is the latest dozen cases I fact checked:

Will these anti-vaccination activists apologise for lying to you? Nope! They will just move on to the next athlete tragedy…

Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!

Don’t forget to protect yourself, and your family, by vaccinating against COVID-19!

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Restricted F-16 + Missile Info Leaked In Game Forum!

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Restricted information on the F-16 fighter jet and its AIM-120 AMRAAM missile were just leaked in the War Thunder game forum!

Restricted F-16 Fighter + Missile Info Leaked In Game Forum!

Fans of War Thunder are always arguing about fighter jets and their weapons in that free-to-play combat vehicle simulator game, and those arguments can get pretty heated.

One F-16 fighter jet discussion that started in July 2022 became more heated after the F-16 Fighting Falcon was added in the Apex Predator’s update in December.

On Monday, 16 January 2023, a War Thunder gamer called spacenavy90 accidentally posted Restricted information on the F-16 and its AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missile, during a discussion on how accurately the War Thunder developers modelled the F-16’s flight and cockpit weapons control system, known as the Stores Control Panel (SCP).

Interesting thing I found during my research. During early AMRAAM testing you can see how F-16A would equip the AIM-120 and use TWS on the non-MFD stores control panel “SCP”:

He backed up his post by attaching four documents. Three appear to be research reports on the AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missile, while the fourth was the F-16 Pilot’s Handbook for the AMRAAM missile.

(U) High-Performance Wingless Missile Research
(U) AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM), Force Development Evaluation (FDE), Phase 3, Part B (3B)
(U) Weapons File, 2009
(U) Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile Manned Air Combat Simulation (AMRAAM MACS). F-16 Pilot’s Handbook

Leaked F-16 Fighter + Missile Info : Old But Still Restricted!

Now, the documents were old and no longer classified. In fact, they were all marked “Unclassified”. So the offence wasn’t as egregious as the earlier leak of the Chinese DT10-125 tank ammunition!

The High-Performance Wingless Missile Research document, for example, was published in May 1999, while the F-16 pilot’s handbook on the AMRAAM missile was published in May 1982!

The AIM-120 AMRAAM Force Development Evaluation paper was newer, being published in August 2000, while the Weapons File was the newest document – published in July 2009.

However, they are all still considered Restricted information, as the documents were labelled “Export Controlled” and “DoD Only“, as well as “distribution authorised to US government agencies only“.

As another War Thunder gamer pointed out, “The penalty for conviction of unauthorised disclosure includes up to 10 years in prison, a large fine, or both.”

A moderator quickly removed the documents, and replied to the post saying that they contained export-restricted information, and posting them was not permitted “per U.S. Laws on restricted and export restricted data“.

War Thunders developer, Gaijin Entertainment, later issued a statement :

A user posted some information on AMRAAM missiles for F-16. As far as we know, these documents are considered export restricted and are not meant to be shared or used by unauthorised people. We always delete posts containing classified or restricted information from our forum as soon as possible. We forbid our users to share documents like this on our platforms. We remind our users again and again that it’s both illegal and pointless, so they should never do that. We never use documents like this in our work.

So, we deleted the posts. The documents themselves were in fact posted via links to a third-party Discord server, so they were never actually uploaded to our own servers. In any case, we made sure that those links are not available to the visitors of our forum or our employees.

F-16 Fighter + Missile : Just Latest Leaked Info On War Thunder Forum!

This is hardly the first time military personnel and enthusiasts accidentally leaked sensitive or classified information during heated arguments.

Just 3 days ago, another War Thunder forum user posted screenshots of a USAF Air Combat Command paper manual published in 2015, and an F-15 operating manual published by McDonnell Douglas in 1993.

Both manuals had a printed warning that they “contain technical data whose export is restricted”, with violations “subject to severe criminal penalties”.

In June 2022, a photo of the tungsten penetrator of the latest DTC10-125 tank ammunition used in China’s main battle tanks was posted together with its classified technical data!

In 2021, parts of the United Kingdom’s Challenger 2 tank user manual was leaked by someone who claimed to be a Challenger 2 tank commander, who was trying to convince the game developers to make their in-game model closer to the real tank!

Say what you will – War Thunder gamers are really passionate about the game, and how accurately it reflects real-life military equipment!

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Did Russia Just Destroy 4 Bradley Fighting Vehicles In Ukraine?!

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Did Russia just destroy four Bradley Fighting Vehicles in Ukraine?!

Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!

Claim : Russia Just Destroyed 4 Bradley Fighting Vehicles In Ukraine!

People are sharing a video of Russian Ministry of Defense spokesman Igor Konashenkov claiming that Russian forces destroyed four Bradley Fighting Vehicles (BFV) in Ukraine!

Here is the accompanying message, which I machine-translated into English.

💥 За сутки боевых действий на данном направлении противник потерял 11 танков, 17 боевых машин пехоты, в том числе четыре БМП «Брэдли» производства США, 10 других боевых бронированных машин, 5 пикапов с крупнокалиберными пулеметами и более 150 военнослужащих.

💥 During the day of hostilities in this direction, the enemy lost 11 tanks, 17 infantry fighting vehicles, including four US-made Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, 10 other armored combat vehicles, 5 pickup trucks with heavy machine guns and more than 150 military personnel.

https://www.techarp.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Russias-Ministry-of-Defense-spokesman-Igor-Konashenkov-says-Russia-has-already-destroyed-4-Bradley-vehicles.mp4?_=4

Truth : Russia Did Not Destroy 4 Bradley Fighting Vehicles In Ukraine!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS spread by pro-Russian netizens and groups.

Fact #1 : Video Was Recorded On 4 September 2022

The video is genuine, but it isn’t new. It was actually posted on the official Russian Ministry of Defence’s Telegram group on 4 September 2022.

In that longer video, Ministry of Defense spokesman Igor Konashenkov was giving a report on the state of Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine.

⚡️ Сводка Министерства обороны Российской Федерации о ходе проведения специальной военной операции на территории Украины (04.09.2022 г.)

⚡️ Report of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation on the progress of the special military operation on the territory of Ukraine (04.09.2022)

Fact #2 : Bradley Fighting Vehicle Donation Only Announced In January 2023

President Joe Biden only announced that the US government would be sending Ukraine about 50 Bradley M2A2 ODS Fighting Vehicles on Wednesday, January 4, 2023.

That’s exactly four months after Russia claimed to have destroyed four of them!

Fact #3 : There Are Still No Bradley Fighting Vehicles In Ukraine

Even today, it is impossible for Russian military forces to have destroyed four Bradley Fighting Vehicles in Ukraine, because the Ukrainian army still does not not have any!

Yes, President Biden announced a new $2.8 billion weapons package on January 4, 2023 that would include about 50 Bradley Fighting Vehicles, but those vehicles will take months to deliver.

As Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder announced on January 5, 2023 – the Bradley Fighting Vehicles have not been delivered to Ukraine.

You will see when Bradleys arrive on the battlefield. Let Ukraine announce it.

Fact #4 : Ukrainians Need To Train On Bradley Fighting Vehicles First!

Logistically, the US Army has about 4,000 Bradley Fighting Vehicles, and can easily deliver the 50 vehicles to Ukraine in weeks, if not days.

However, Bradley Fighting Vehicles are complex vehicles, and it will take several weeks for each vehicle and maintenance crew to learn how to use and maintain them. And that is expedited training.

In fact, the Ukrainians will only start training on the Bradley M2 vehicles this week in Germany, as announced by Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder in a briefing last week.

Training will mostly start next week in Germany. We expect this training to last weeks, not months.

Regardless of when the US government sends the Bradley M2 vehicles to Ukraine, they will only appear on the battlefield after there are trained Ukrainian crews.

Fact #5 : This Is Just Pro-Russia Propaganda

This is nothing more than old but official Russian propaganda that is being used by pro-CCP and pro-Russia netizens and groups to promote the perception that the United States is wasting resources in Ukraine.

Be wary of such claims, because there are plenty spreading on WhatsApp, Telegram and social media platforms. Here is a selection of similar Russian propaganda that I fact checked in the past:

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Is King of Bahrain Protected By A Robot Bodyguard?!

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Did the King of Bahrain arrive in Dubai with a US$7.4 million robot bodyguard with machine guns and tasers?!

Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!

Claim : King of Bahrain Is Protected By A Robot Bodyguard!

A video with these messages has gone viral on WhatsApp and social media, claiming to show the King of Bahrain arriving in Dubai with his robot bodyguard!

King of Bahrain arrives in Dubai with his Robot bodyguard of IR 4.0
It can speak 6 languages. It can rescue him literally carry him from mobs. It can physically fight, chase, shoot & armed with an electric teaser, an undisclosed 360 deg camera.
The AI guard cost about US $7.4 M

The king of Bahrain arrives in Dubai with his robot bodyguard. It speaks six languages,able to rescue the king from mobs,it can physically fight,chase and shoot. It is armed with an electric teaser and an undisclosed 360 degree camera system,a set of infrared cameras and three hidden machine guns with enough ammunition to fight up to 1050 men,besides a laser guided sniper machine gun. It also carries medicine and water. This robot cost around US 7.4 million, small change to oil rich Arab nation. An amazing development of the 4th Industrial Revolution!😅

The king of Bahrain arrives in Dubai with his robot bodyguard! The fourth industrial revolution is changing the world. Previously the population of a country determined its global power because of soldiers it could deploy. Now nations will be deploying robots into battle!

King of Bahrain arriving in Dubai with his Robot bodyguard. It speaks 6 languages. It can rescue him literally carry him from mobs. It can physically fight, chase, shoot. Its armed with an electric taser, an undisclosed 360 degrees camera system Secondary to a set of infrared pic.twitter.com/xJNhdD5Euz

— Temba Maseko (@TembaMaseko1) November 27, 2022

Truth : King of Bahrain Is Not Protected By A Robot Bodyguard!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created and propagated on WhatsApp and social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : Video Was Recorded In Abu Dhabi, Not Dubai

The video does not show the King of Bahrain arriving in Dubai. It was recorded on 19 February 2019, at the 2019 International Defense Exhibition (IDEX) in Abu Dhabi.

While both Dubai and Abu Dhabi are in the UAE (United Arab Emirates), they are separate emirates. Dubai is about an hour’s drive away from Abu Dhabi.

Fact #2 : That Is Not The King of Bahrain

The man seen in the video walking in front of the robot is not the King of Bahrain, Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

Fact #3 : Titan Is Adorned With UAE Flags, Not Bahrain

If you look carefully, Titan is adorned with UAE flags, not the flag of Bahrain. That’s because it’s being exhibited in the UAE.

If this was really the robot bodyguard of the King of Bahrain, it would have been adorned with the flag of Bahrain, not the flag of the UAE.

Fact #4 : That Is Titan The Robot

The robot behind him isn’t the man’s bodyguard, never mind the bodyguard of the King of Bahrain. It is called Titan the Robot, and it was made by a British company called Cyberstein, as the world’s first entertainment robot!

The world-famous Titan the Robot is the ultimate family entertainment show and Titan’s comedic antics are adored by children and adults alike.

Titan’s show can also be easily adapted to any situation and works very well as corporate entertainment or for enticing clients to your exhibition stand.

Fact #4 : Titan The Robot Is A Costume With A Person Inside

Titan the Robot isn’t even a real robot, but is really a humanoid robot costume worn by a human actor who moves its appendages, and controls electronic functions like light and sound effects.

Needless to say, Titan does not have any machine guns, or sniper rifles, or tasers hidden inside. Only a human being. In fact, the costume only weighs 60 kg!

Fact #5 : Titan The Robot Is Not For Sale

Cyberstein does not sell Titan because it needs an actor to use the costume, but anyone can book it to perform at family, corporate and international events!

Titan the the Robot is based in the UK, but he is available worldwide and has performed in over 50 countries to date. Titan’s show can be configured for any kind of event and the footfall he creates in shopping malls is legendary.

Cyberstein has never stated how much Titan the Robot costs, but it is ludicrous to claim that a robot costume would cost US$7.4 million.

Fact #6 : Titan The Robot Is Over 18 Years Old!

While the viral posts suggest that this is a new robot bodyguard that the King of Bahrain purchased for an exorbitant price, Titan the Robot is over 18 years old!

Titan made its first appearance at the 2004 Glastonbury Festival on 25-27 June, and was 18 years old when it performed at Britain’s Got Talent.

There is nothing really high-tech about it, being developed in the early 2000s. It certainly does not have any Industrial Revolution 4.0 features!

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World of Warships : Get FREE New Year Camo DLC!

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The New Year Camo Collection DLC for World of Warships is FREE to download and keep!

Find out how to get it FREE, and make sure you TELL your friends!

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World of Warships

Immerse yourself in thrilling naval battles and assemble an armada of over 400 ships from the first half of the 20th century — from stealthy destroyers to gigantic battleships.

Change the look of your ship, choose upgrades to suit your play style, and go into battle with other players!

PLAY FOR FREE
Download and play World of Warships absolutely FREE — you can progress through the game’s countless ship trees simply by playing the game and accumulating experience.

EPIC NAVAL COMBAT
Naval warfare has never looked this good! Engage in thrilling battles between massive fleets across a multitude of gigantic maps where every maneuver, salvo, or push can mean the difference between utmost triumph and total defeat.

OVER 400 HISTORICAL SHIPS
From Bismarck and Yamato to Iowa and Hood… The most famous and historic warships of WWI and WWII have been recreated in breathtaking detail, making World of Warships the most extensive virtual naval museum on the planet!

4 DIFFERENT CLASSES
Every playstyle has its place! Take command of devastating but slow battleships, versatile but vulnerable cruisers, stealthy but lightly-armed destroyers, or quick-striking but fragile aircraft carriers — and everything in between!

REWARDING PROGRESSION
Choose your favorite branch among 12 in-game nations and battle your way up a comprehensive ship tier system following a natural historical progression.

UPGRADE AND CUSTOMIZE
Install modifications on your ship to fit your playstyle, train your commanders to unlock special skills, and augment your fleet with camouflages, signal flags, and more.

PLAY SOLO OR WITH FRIENDS
If the life of a lone wolf is not for you, invite your friends to a Division and put your co-operative skills to the test! If you’re looking for a real challenge, join a Clan, climb to the top of the Clan league, and strive to be the best on your server!

World of Warships : Free New Year Camo Collection

Bolster your arsenal with this festive cache that holds all the New Year-themed camouflages that have graced our Ports each winter holiday season since the dawn of World of Warships.

It offers the perfect way to boost your XP in battles and blend in at parties! This gift bundle includes:

1x New Year Sky camouflage
1x Winter Strands camouflage
1x New Year Streamer camouflage
1x “Type 3 – New Year” camouflage
1x Frosty Fir Tree camouflage
1x New Year camouflage
9x common expendable economic bonuses of four types (Credits +20%, Ship XP +100%, Commander XP +100%, and Free XP +300%)

Camouflages only change the ship exterior and do not provide any economic or combat bonuses.

World of Warships + Free New Year Camo DLC : How To Get ‘Em FREE!

Make sure you follow these steps to get the New Year Camo Collection for FREE, for a limited time.

Please note that this DLC requires you to have the World of Warships base game in your Steam account, to get it for free.

Log into your existing Steam account, or create a new account.
Go to the World of Warships page on Steam.
Click on the Play Game button.
Go to the New Year Camo Collection page on Steam.
Click on the Add to Account button.

That’s it! Both the base game and the free New Year Camo Collection are now in your Steam account, and you can download and install it anytime you want!

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He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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Olga Taran Refutes Kremlin + Crypto Links To Husband’s Death!

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Olga Taran refutes claims of Kremlin and crypto ties to her Russian billionaire husband, Vyacheslav Taran, who died in a helicopter crash!

Earlier : Russian Billionaire Vyacheslav Taran Dies In Helicopter Crash!

Russian billionaire Vyacheslav Taran died in a helicopter crash in rather mysterious circumstances on Friday, November 25, 2022.

On that fateful day, he was flying from Lausanne, Switzerland in a single-engined H130 helicopter back to his home in Monaco, when it crashed near the resort town of Villefranche-sur-Mer in good, clear weather.

He was supposed to be travelling with another unidentified passenger on this flight, but that passenger cancelled at the last minute.

Both Vyacheslav Taran, 53, and the 35 year-old French helicopter pilot were killed in the crash.

The deputy public prosecutor of Nice who visited the crash scene, said that the fault of a third party could not yet be ruled out.

Vyacheslav Taran is the co-founder of the trading and investment platform, Libertex, as well as the founder and CEO of the Forex Club group of companies.

As I noted earlier, Taran’s unexpected death will likely spur conspiracy theories, coming just two days after Tiantian Kullander died in his sleep, and just weeks after Nikolas Mushegian apparently drowned after tweeting about an alleged plot by the CIA and Mossad to murder him.

It also seems to be a dangerous time for Russian businessmen, who are dying in mysterious circumstances both in Russia, and overseas. Just in September alone:

28 September 2022 : Pavel Pchelnikov allegedly shot himself on the balcony of his Moscow apartment.
21 September 2022 : Anatoly Gerashchenko died after falling down a flight of stairs in Moscow.
10 September 2022 : Ivan Pechorin fell from his boat and drowned at Cape Ignatyev in Vladivostok.
1 September 2022 : Ravil Maganov – the chairman of Lukoil, “fell out of a window” in the Kremlin Hospital.

Olga Taran Refutes Kremlin + Crypto Links To Husband’s Death!

Vyacheslav Taran’s wife – Olga Taran – who is the Editor-in-Chief of HelloMonaco, spoke out just days after the accident against the allegations that her husband was involved with the Kremlin, or was a Russian spy.

She also pointed out that Vyacheslav left Russia in 2008, and supported Ukrainian charities since 2014.

As you know, Viacheslav Taran died in a tragic helicopter crash last week. I have lost a loving husband and a father of three of our children. It is intolerably painful for me to realize that we will never see him again. But, it is even more difficult to stay silent when someone is spreading lies about my beloved Viacheslav.

The Ukrainian news website UNIAN.net published a story that my husband allegedly was a billionaire and was involved in money laundering for Russian elites and on top of that they claimed him to be a Russian spy. All of this is outrageous and manifests an absolute and utter lie. My husband never had any connections to the Russian government or any political affiliations. He left Russia to pursue and focus on his business interests back in 2008.

Moreover, since 2014 my late husband has constantly supported charitable foundation Changeonelife.ua and since the very first days, when the war broke down, Viacheslav with his friends created Pristaniste.me a charitable foundation for Ukrainian refugees in Montenegro which accepted first refugees on 5th of March, 2022 and still is actively helping the Ukrainians in need.

This attack is unfair to Viacheslav who always actively supported supported Ukrainian people through his charity foundations, especially children who lost their parents.

Furthermore, I urge all Western journalists who cite UNIAN.net to stop spreading the lies (Will Steward and Rachael Bunyan from Daily Mail, Aliki Kraterou from The Sun). My children have already been bullied because of these accusations and I am concerned for their safety.

I understand that you do not know Viacheslav personally and reading these cynical articles one may consider them to be true, but everyone who knows Viacheslav, including the entire Monaco community knows it to be an absolute lie.

Please do not tarnish his good name and memory. We still have not received Viacheslav’s body due to the investigation and each day brings unbearable pain.

Olga Taran

Olga Taran later issued another statement, refuting that her husband’s death was anything “mysterious”, or related to the recent deaths of crypto entrepreneurs like Tiantian Kullander and Nikolai Mushegian.

She pointed out that cryptocurrency was simply one of the markets he invested in, and that he was not a “crypto billionaire” because he invested more into blockchain and cryptocurrency than he ever got out of it.

Following the tragic death of Vyacheslav Taran, a devoted husband and loving father of three, we have been greatly distressed by the publication of false and inaccurate information that has tarnished his name and we would like to set the record straight.

Vyacheslav Taran was a successful businessman and serial entrepreneur, who was also an investor in various fintech startups, including some that worked with cryptocurrencies. He was definitely not a “crypto billionaire” and one might argue that he invested more in blockchain and crypto technology than he ever got out of it.

We categorically deny that he was involved in any way with the Russian Intelligence services or the Russian government in any capacity and we also categorically deny that he was involved in money laundering for Russian “elites” or in any other illegal activity. These are completely unfounded fabrications and outright lies, which have compounded our grief at this very difficult time.

Vyacheslav Taran was born in Russia but had lived and worked overseas since 2008, before settling in Monaco with his family more than a decade ago.

The circumstances surrounding the accident are still being investigated, mainly because of the nature of the accident. It is obviously a lengthy process, as is any investigation into accidents involving any type of aircraft. There is nothing “mysterious” about it and everyone should wait until the investigation is fully completed before jumping to conclusions or speculating about crazy conspiracy theories. We fully support the authorities in their investigation and eagerly await their findings being made public in due course.

Our beloved Vyacheslav was also a great philanthropist, having contributed to numerous charity organisations and was the co-founder of the Change One Life Foundation, which to this day has helped more than 30,000 orphaned children find families and live fulfilling lives.

Above all, he was a loyal and supportive friend, husband and father and we would politely request that his memory is not dishonoured by false information or baseless speculation.

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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