Did airline pilots accidentally release chemtrails at airports?! Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Airline pilots accidentally released chemtrails at airports!
People are sharing videos of aircraft spewing white smoke, as evidence that airline pilots accidentally released chemtrails while their aircraft are still parked at airports!
David Wolfe : A pilot accidentally releases the chemtrail vaporizer while still at the airport terminal.
JoshWho #SeekingTheTruth : OOops | A pilot accidentally released the chem tanks while still on the ground at the airport.
😅😂🤣😱👇🤣
Greetings to all who still think chemtrails are ” condensation trails”. #chemtrails #SAI #StratosphericAerosolInjection #Geoengineering #SolarEngineering #DimmingTheSky
Matt Hoy : Ooops!! When you accidentally hit the chemtrail button while still on the ground.
Oh wait, is it condensation or humidity causing it? Oh hold up, all planes do this at certain altitudes 🙄 Silly me.. “Note to self, do not put coffee next to poison the people button” #Chemtrails
Truth : Airline pilots did not release chemtrails at airports!
This appears to be yet another example of fake news created / promoted by believers in the chemtrail conspiracy theory, and here are the reasons why…
This video shows an APU burning oil
This video has been regularly shared as evidence of airline pilots accidentally releasing chemtrails on the ground. However, the belching white smoke isn’t a chemtrail, but rather – burning oil from an Auxiliary Power Unit (APU).
This video likely shows a Japan Airlines (JAL) Boeing 777 airliner which had just powered on its APU after maintenance work. Leftover oil in the APU burns off as white smoke from from its tail exhaust port.
Based on my investigation, this video appears to be recorded and posted on YouTube by ブリックガレージ (Brick Garage) on 3 April 2016. It was then reposted by another YouTube channel called 737Aviation on 4 August 2020, with the following caption and description:
Japan Airlines APU Fire
Short video showing APU burning oil. This could happen after heavy maintenance when there are oil leftovers in the APU (same would happen with an engine) and it is first start after works.
While the title said APU fire, and it was technically oil on fire from the APU, the description stated that it can happen with leftover oil in the APU after maintenance.
If you look closely, you can also see airport employees casually walking next to the Boeing 777, which suggests that the description is correct – the APU was just burning off excess oil after it started up for the first time after maintenance.
This video also shows an APU of a Boeing 777 burning excess oil, this time an aircraft belong to United Airlines. In fact, you can see that the excess oil burns out, and the white smoke stops discharging from the tail exhaust port, just before the video ends.
A flight test engineer @mikefly562 said it was “most likely a new (or preserved) APU firing up and that’s the preservation fluid burning up. Fairly typical on new or preserved turbine engines“.
The FSXNOOB YouTube channel, which reposted this video, suggested that the APU might be burning off accumulated fuel vapour:
White smoke from the aircraft’s Auxiliary Power Unit during startup can be due to unburnt fuel vapor. When the engine is shut down, fuel left in the manifolds can coke up in the burners. Then, when you try to start again, the fuel spray might miss the ignitor, leading to the emission of white smoke. This is more common during the start, as combustion is poorer due to low pressure and low airflow in the combustor. However, it’s important to note that persistent white smoke could indicate a more serious issue and should be checked by a professional..
While some fact checkers have suggest that video showed a United Airlines Boeing 757-200’s APU catching fire at the Boston Logan Airport on Tuesday, 16 November 2021, that is not accurate.
First of all, the video is far more recent, and was recorded at Heathrow and posted on TikTok on 10 March 2024. @theheathrowguy who took that video said that the UA airliner had passengers onboard and returned to the terminal after that, so there may have been something wrong with the APU.
I posted because I was there when it happened and no it wasn’t normal as it went back on stand after push WITH passengers inside the plane
Secondly, the video actually shows the tail exhaust port of a Boeing 777, which has a unique wedge-style tail cone, with its APU exhaust port offset to the left side. The Boeing 757, on the other hand, has a “traditional” centred, circular exhaust port.
But the most important thing to know is that this video does not show airline pilots accidentally releasing chemicals. It either shows an APU burning off excess preservation oil, or an APU on fire.
The term “chemtrails” refers to the belief that condensation trails (contrails) left in the sky by high-flying aircraft are actually chemical or biological agents being deliberately spread for various nefarious purposes.
The truth is – chemtrails do not exist. The white trails you see behind airplanes flying at high altitudes are contrails – trails of water vapour from aircraft engines that condenses into ice crystals in the extremely cold air.
In fact, these contrails have been seen since aircraft were able to fly at high altitudes, and were prominent during World War 2, when contrails were often seen during high-altitude bombing missions.
On top of that, it would require many tens of thousands of people in the aviation industry to work in perfect unison to cover up an industry-wide conspiracy to spray people with chemicals or biological agents. In truth – such a conspiracy would have been exposed within hours, if not days.
Unsurprisingly, people promoting the chemtrail conspiracy have never provided any evidence to prove their claims.
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
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.
Did an Indian company called Nagarjuna Cement mock the September 11 attack in its controversial advertisement?! Take a look at the viral video, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Nagarjuna Cement mocks September 11 attack in viral video!
People are sharing a video which purportedly shows a controversial advertisement by Nagarjuna Cement mocking the September 11, 2001 attack on the United States.
The viral video shows an airliner flying into a tall building and bouncing off it, instead of exploding. The airplane then reverses and goes around the building, suggesting that the building was simply too hard to take down.
Translated : his cement is impressive, and the airplane head is also very hard 😂 #fyp #viral #recommended #didn’t expect that #India
Circulating on WhatsApp : India Cement advertisement that upset USA. 🤣
印度水泥广告 美国人震怒!
President-Elect Togo : This Indian ad is saying if you used their cement, 9/11 wouldn’t have happened
Remington 870 : Indian commercial showing how strong Indian cement is compared to U.S. that, 9/11 could never happen if built with Indian materials. 9/11 suggest U.S does tofu construction, no other countries building would collapse this easily.
Truth : Nagarjuna Cement did not create video mock September 11 attack!
This is yet another example of fake news circulating on TikTok, YouTube, and social media platforms, and here are the reasons why…
Nagarjuna Cement did not create that 9/11 attack advertisement
First, let me just point out that Nagarjuna Cement did not create any viral advertisement mocking the September 11 attack on one of the World Trade Center towers.
If that was really the case, it would have been reported widely by media outlets all over the world. Yet, there has been no legitimate news report of any Nagarjuna Cement advertisement mocking the 9/11 attacks.
Nagarjuna Cement refuted claims it created the video
Nagarjuna Cement itself publicly refuted (archive) the claim that it created the video as an advertisement on its account on X (formerly Twitter) on 20 March 2024:
Kind Attn: For the past few days this meme has been circulated on social media platforms.We would like everyone to know that we have nothing to do with this content or the creator and we wish to report the illegal usage of our copyrighted/trademark brand logo and our ad content.
The viral Nagarjuna Cement advertisement mocking the September 11 attack on the Twin Towers was actually created from two separate video clips.
The first 5 seconds was taken from a 3D animation of an airliner bouncing off a World Trade Center tower, with the bonk sound effect, that was created by animator Wraysque and posted on YouTube on 20 February 2024.
When someone mentioned to Wraqsque that the video was being used in the Nagarjuna Cement video, he/she said:
lmao,,, i dont think they ever mentioned my channel on their vid, glad u found my channel, here is a cookie
The second part was taken from the last 13 seconds of an actual Nagarjuna advertisement that was posted on YouTube more than 3 years ago – on 13 May 2021.
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
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.
The UK will require travellers from 83 new countries to register and pay for ETA in 2025! Here is what you need to know…
UK imposes ETA on 83 new countries in 2025!
On Tuesday, 10 September 2024, the UK government expanded the roll-out of its Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system to 83 new countries in 2025.
The ETA is basically digital permission to travel for visitors who currently do not need a visa for short stays, or do not already have a UK immigration status. You will also need to apply for an ETA if you are only transiting through the UK (even if you are not going through border control).
The United Kingdom launched its ETA system in November 2023, with the pilot phase involving citizens of Qatar. It was then expanded in February 2024 to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, and Jordan (now cancelled).
The expanded roll-out of the UK’s ETA system in 2025 will be split into two stages involving 49 countries in January, and another 34 European countries in April.
Travellers from the affected countries who do not have a visa will need an ETA to travel to the UK:
for up to 6 months for tourism, visiting family and friends, business or short-term study,
for up to 3 months on the Creative Worker visa concession
for a permitted paid engagement
if transiting through the UK – including if you’re not going through UK border control
How much does UK ETA cost?
Each ETA application will cost £10 (about €12 / US$13 / RM60), and you cannot get a refund after you apply.
Every person travelling to the UK must have an ETA, including babies and children. Each person must apply separately, although you can apply for other people.
How long does UK ETA last?
Every approved UK ETA will last 2 years, and you will be allowed to make multiple visits to the UK during that two-year period, or until the passport it is tied to expires – whichever is sooner.
The UK government says travellers can typically expect to get a decision on their ETA application within 3 working days, although occasionally, it may take longer than 3 working days.
Applications using the UK ETA app may get a quicker decision, according to the British High Commission.
Once your ETA is approved, you will receive an email confirmation. There is no ETA to print or bring with you. The ETA is linked electronically to the passport you applied with. You must therefore travel to the UK using the same passport.
You will need to take and upload a photo of the passport you will use to travel to the UK, and scan your face. You will also need to take and upload a photo of yourself, and answer some questions.
You will then have to pay for your ETA application using a credit card, a debit card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay.
Please note that you will need to complete your ETA application within 20 minutes, or it will time out and you will need to start the whole process over again.
UK ETA expands to these 49 countries in January 2025
Citizens of these 49 countries and territories will need to have an ETA to travel to the UK from 8 January 2025 onwards. They will be able to apply and pay for ETA authorisation starting 27 November 2024.
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Australia
The Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
Botswana
Brazil
Brunei
Canada
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Grenada
Guatemala
Guyana
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (including British national overseas)
Israel
Japan
Kiribati
Macao Special Administrative Region
Malaysia
Maldives
Marshall Islands
Mauritius
Mexico
Federated States of Micronesia
Nauru
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Palau
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Samoa
Seychelles
Singapore
Solomon Islands
South Korea
St Kitts and Nevis
St Lucia
St Vincent and the Grenadines
Taiwan (if you have a passport issued by Taiwan that includes in it the number of the identification card issued by the competent authority in Taiwan)
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tuvalu
United States
Uruguay
UK ETA expands to European countries in April 2025
Citizens of these 34 European countries will need to have an ETA to travel to the UK without visa from 2 April 2025 onwards. They will be able to apply and pay for ETA authorisation starting 5 March 2025.
Andorra
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Czechia
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Italy
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Monaco
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
San Marino
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Vatican City
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
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.
Do you now need ETA – Electronic Travel Authorisation – to travel to the UK?! Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Updated @ 2024-09-12 Originally posted @ 2023-09-02
Claim : You now need ETA to travel to the UK!
A video clip called New UK travel requirements has gone viral on WhatsApp and social media. It warns that people who travel to the UK on or after 15 November 2023, must apply for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA).
This has led some people who already booked their flights to the UK to panic, as they were not aware of such requirements.
Here is what you need to know about the UK ETA programme, and what countries are affected.
UK ETA video is genuine
First, I would like to point out that the video is genuine, and was originally posted by the UK Home Office on 9 March 2023.
It appears to have been edited and shared by Homely Stay UK on WhatsApp and social media, where it was shared without context, leading to mass panic.
UK will soon require ETA for non-visa travellers
The warning is, of course, true – the United Kingdom will soon require non-visa travellers to apply and pay for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA).
The ETA scheme is part of the UK’s plan to fully digitise its borders by 2025. But note that the ETA only applies to travellers who currently do NOT require a visa to travel to the UK.
An Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) will soon be a requirement for people who do not need a visa to come to the UK. It will give you permission to travel to the UK, and it will be electronically linked to your passport.
You’ll need an ETA to:
come to the UK for up to 6 months for tourism, visiting family and friends, business or study
come to the UK for up to 3 months on the Creative Worker visa concession
What the video does not reveal is that only travellers from Qatar must have an ETA to travel to the UK from 15 November 2023 onwards.
No other country is affected by this 15 November 2023 deadline, only Qatar. So stop panicking!
If you’re from another country : You do not need to apply for an ETA now. More nationalities will be added to the scheme later.
Even if you are a resident of Qatar, there is no need to panic – you can only apply for an ETA from 25 October 2023 onwards.
UK will roll-out ETA through 2024-2025
The United Kingdom will slowly roll out its ETA programme throughout 2024-2025.
From 22 February 2024 onwards, travellers from these six countries in the Middle East will need an ETA to travel to the UK:
Bahrain
Jordan
Kuwait
Oman
Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates
Even travellers from these countries do not need to apply until 1 February 2024 onwards.
All non-visa travellers from all other countries will need an ETA by 2025. On 10 September 2024, the UK government finally revealed its schedule for 83 new countries to apply for ETA in 2025.
Each traveller will require his or her own ETA, including children and babies. Each ETA will cost £10 per applicant.
How long does each ETA last?
Your ETA will last for 2 years, and can use it to make multiple visits to the UK. However, you should know that having an ETA does not guarantee entry to the UK.
In addition, the ETA is not transferrable to a new / renewed passport. If your passport expires in less than 2 years, you will need to get a new ETA for your new / renewed passport.
You will need to take and upload a photo of the passport you will use to travel to the UK, and scan your face. You will also need to take and upload a photo of yourself, and answer some questions.
You will then have to pay for your UK ETA application using a credit card, a debit card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay.
Please note that you will need to complete your UK ETA application within 20 minutes, or it will time out and you will need to start the whole process over again.
You will usually get a decision within 3 working days, but there may be delays if the UK government needs to make further checks
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
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.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has just vowed to stop the crime of chemtrails! Take a look at what chemtrails are all about, and find out what the facts really are!
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. vows to stop the crime of chemtrails!
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. vowed to stop the crime of chemtrails, in response to a video on X (formerly Twitter), which purportedly shows a whistleblower pilot speaking about chemtrails.
Here is an excerpt of the article, which is long and (intentionally?) confusing, so feel free to skip to the next part for the facts!
Concerned Citizen : “I call them tanker terminators – we are paid more than any other pilot”
Chemtrail Pilot Whistleblower.
I’m convinced the majority of them are remotely operated – the tech obviously exists & there’s way too many.
This came after RFK Jr. suspended his US Presidential aspirations for a role in Donald Trump’s campaign. Donald Trump also said, on Sunday, that RFK Jr. would tackle health issues in a potential future Trump Administration.
His response suggests that a potential Trump Administration will “stop” that crime. Over 3 million people saw his reply, at the time I wrote this article.
Why Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is wrong about chemtrails!
In this article, I will go through some of the key claims about chemtrails, and share with you what the facts really are!
Chemtrails do not exist
The term “chemtrails” refers to the belief that condensation trails (contrails) left in the sky by high-flying aircraft are actually chemical or biological agents being deliberately spread for various nefarious purposes.
Chemtrail conspiracists believe that governments or corporations are using chemtrails to make people sick, control the population, test biological or chemical weapons, or change the weather.
The truth is – chemtrails do not exist. The white trails you see behind airplanes flying at high altitudes are contrails – short for condensation trails.
Contrails are usually trails of water vapour from aircraft engines that can condense into ice crystals inextremely cold air. Such engine contrails generally form at high altitudes – usually above 8,000 metres (26,000 feet), where the air temperature is below −36.5 °C (−34 °F), but can also form at lower altitudes if the air is cool and moist.
Contrails can also be triggered by changes in the air pressure over the wing surface, or in wingtip vortices. They can also form at the tips of rotating propellers. Such contrails are usually seen at low altitudes, particularly when the ambient humidity is high.
For example, you can see contrails forming at the tips of this Curtiss P-40 Warhawk’s propellers. Obviously, this antique warbird isn’t being used to spray chemicals or toxins through its propellers!
According to atmospheric scientists, such contrails can dissipate after a short time, or persist for a long time – it all depends on the atmospheric conditions the plane is flying through.
If the air is very dry, contrails will not form, or will be short-lasting. But if the air is humid and cold, the water vapour will immediately condense into ice particles, which can persist for a long time.
Conspiracists insist that contrails persist for a long time in the sky because they contain chemicals or toxins that are used to control people’s minds, or make them sick. But that wouldn’t make sense, because those chemicals or toxins are persisting in the air for hours, instead of dispersing to affect people below.
Real villains who actually fund chemtrail missions will want the chemicals or toxins to quickly disperse to both avoid detection, and to rapidly affect the people below. They wouldn’t want the chemicals or toxins to stay impotently for hours high in the sky.
After all, letting the chemicals or toxins stay in the sky for a long time will let people on the ground get away from the danger zone, get under shelter, or put on protective gear – defeating the nefarious plan.
Interestingly, many of these chemtrail conspiracists do not run away, get under shelter, or put on protective gear whenever they see what they call “chemtrails”. Instead, they take photos and videos to post on social media. You have to wonder – is that what people normally do when they are being gassed???
It is also silly for any nefarious government or corporation to spray chemicals or toxins or mind control drugs so high in the sky.
Wind speeds increase with altitude. At normal flight altitude, the wind can actually reach speeds of 200 km/h or more. So anything that is sprayed at such a high altitude will get blown to a completely different area.
That’s why crop-dusters fly close to the ground – to ensure that the pesticide or herbicide only hits the targeted area, and not get blown elsewhere. Similarly, the US Air Force and US Army used low-flying aircraft, helicopters, and even armoured personnel carriers (APC) to spray Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.
On top of that, chemicals or toxins released at such high altitudes will get diluted as it disperses into the air. By the time it reaches the ground (if it ever does), it would be in really low concentrations. That’s the same reason why aircraft are allowed to dump fuel to reduce weight in emergency situations – tons of jet fuel can be dumped at high altitude because it will dissipate before reaching the ground.
Contrails existed decades before chemtrail conspiracy
The chemtrail conspiracy only started in the late 1990s, after the US Air Force published a 1996 report about weather modification. However, such contrails were seen for decades before the first conspiracist even thought of the concept.
Large, long-lasting contrails have been seen since aircraft were able to fly at high altitudes, and were prominent during World War 2, when contrails were often seen during high-altitude bombing missions.
Flight crews on such high-altitude bombing missions have personally seen those contrails forming from their own aircraft, as well as aircraft around them. So have people on the ground.
Contrails are seen forming even when the aircraft is flying over open oceans and uninhabited areas.
Why would any nefarious government or corporation spray chemicals or biological agents over oceans and uninhabited areas? Surely they don’t plan to control the minds of fishes, or wildlife?
It would be impossible to cover up such a conspiracy
Any large-scale program to spray chemicals or toxins using high-altitude aircraft would be impossible to conceal.
It would require many tens of thousands of people in the aviation industry to work in perfect unison to cover up an industry-wide conspiracy to spray people with chemicals or biological agents. Not only would the pilots and engineers be willing participants, it would require airlines to sacrifice space, weight and money on their flights to load those chemicals or biological agents.
Thousands more would also need to manufacture, store and transport those chemicals and biological agents, while thousands more people working at airports will need to assist in the storage and loading of those chemicals and biological agents.
It is inconceivable that so many people would be such willing participants in any program that would harm other people, including their family and friends. In truth – such a conspiracy would have been exposed within hours, if not days.
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
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.
Is Bill Gates using chemtrails to spread monkeypox in major cities?! Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Bill Gates is using chemtrails to spread monkeypox!
People are sharing an article (archive) by The People’s Voice (formerly NewsPunch), which claims that a whistleblower at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has revealed that Bill Gates is using chemtrails to spread monkeypox in major cities!
Here is an excerpt of the (intentionally?) rambling and confusing article. Feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!
Whistleblower: Bill Gates Seeding Monkeypox in Major Cities via Chemtrails
A disturbing revelation has emerged from within the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, as a whistleblower comes forward to expose a plan to use the existing chemtrails operation to unleash the next pandemic.
A senior scientist has bravely broken her silence to reveal a covert operation known as “Project Skypox” which involves spraying a highly contagious variety of aerosolized monkeypox over unsuspecting civilian populations with a view to causing a new pandemic and rolling out a punishing regime of vaccines and restrictions.
Claiming that staff at the Gates Foundation are divided over the morality of this operation, the senior scientist warns that Gates is laser-focused on the plan and determined to push ahead with it whether his staff agree with him or not.
According to WHO chief Dr. Tedros, who receives the vast bulk of his paycheck from Bill Gates, sovereign nations to coordinate a global response to what he describes as the “Mpox international health emergency” following a minor outbreak in isolated parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Gates Foundation conveniently already has enough mpox vaccinations ready to vaccinate the bulk of the world but there is just one problem, according to a brave Gates Foundation scientist who has become the highest placed whistleblower in the history of the organization.
According to the whistleblower, Mpox just isn’t contagious enough and the elite are desperately seeking new ways to infect the global population so they can roll out the next phase of their totalitarian master plan to enslave humanity
The Gates Foundation whistleblower revealed the organization is working with globalist institutions including the United Nations and World Economic Forum to expedite an mRNA vaccine rollout in the same manner as the Covid pandemic.
Except this vaccine will be pumped into the arms of the masses even faster, without any testing, and the consequences will be even worse.
According to the Gates Foundation insider, the organization is being placed under enormous strain by Gates’ increasingly psychopathic methods.
Truth : Bill Gates is not using chemtrails to spread monkeypox!
This is yet another example of fake news created / promoted by The People’s Voice, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : There is no whistleblower
Let me start by pointing out that there is no whistleblower scientist at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
If a high-level employee at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation actually blew the whistle on a conspiracy to spread monkeypox (now known as mpox), it would have been covered widely by the mainstream media. There would also have been massive outrage not only by the public, but also public health officials. In fact, such a shocking revelation would have triggered criminal investigations across the world!
Yet, there has been no media coverage, no outraged public health officials or public, not even a single criminal investigation. That’s because it never happened, and the story was completely made up!
Unsurprisingly, The People’s Voice article provided no evidence that such a whistleblower exists, never mind actually proving the claims he/she made.
Fact #2 : Monkeypox cannot spread through chemtrails
The whole concept of using airplanes to spread monkeypox through chemtrails is utter nonsense. Any genuine whistleblower scientist would know it’s impossible to spread monkeypox by spraying it from 10 kilometres up in the sky.
For one thing – human transmission of mpox occurs mainly through direct contact with the infectious skin, or other lesions in the mouth or on genitals. According to the WHO, it can also spread through very close contact, like:
face-to-face (talking or breathing)
skin-to-skin (touching or vaginal/anal sex)
mouth-to-mouth (kissing)
mouth-to-skin contact (oral sex or kissing the skin)
respiratory droplets or short-range aerosols from prolonged close contact
In other words – you cannot spread mpox by spraying it from tens of thousands of feet up in the sky. Unsurprisingly, The People’s Voice article did not provide any evidence to back up its “fact checked” claim.
The term “chemtrails” refers to the belief that condensation trails (contrails) left in the sky by high-flying aircraft are actually chemical or biological agents being deliberately spread for various nefarious purposes.
The truth is – chemtrails do not exist. The white trails you see behind airplanes flying at high altitudes are contrails – trails of water vapour from aircraft engines that condenses into ice crystals in the extremely cold air.
In fact, these contrails have been seen since aircraft were able to fly at high altitudes, and were prominent during World War 2, when contrails were often seen during high-altitude bombing missions.
On top of that, it would require many tens of thousands of people in the aviation industry to work in perfect unison to cover up an industry-wide conspiracy to spray people with chemicals or biological agents like mpox. In truth – such a conspiracy would have been exposed within hours, if not days.
Unsurprisingly, The People’s Voice article did not provide any evidence of an industry-wide conspiracy to spray major cities with monkeypox, never mind actual evidence that Bill Gates was involved in such a nefarious plot.
Fact #4 : The People’s Voice Is Known For Fake News
The People’s Voice is the current name for NewsPunch, which possibly changed its name because its brand has been so thoroughly discredited after posting numerous shocking but fake stories.
Founded as Your News Wire in 2014, it was rebranded as NewsPunch in November 2018, before becoming The People’s Voice. A 2017 BuzzFeed report identified NewsPunch as the second-largest source of popular fake news on Facebook that year.
Its articles have been regularly debunked as fake news, so you should never share anything from NewsPunch / The People’s Voice. Here are some of its fake stories that I fact checked earlier:
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
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.
Were eight doctors with mRNA turbo cancer evidence suddenly killed in a plane crash?! Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Doctors with mRNA cancer evidence killed in plane crash!
People are sharing an article (archive) by The People’s Voice (formerly NewsPunch), which claims that eight doctors with mRNA turbo cancer evidence were suddenly killed in a plane crash!
Here is an excerpt of the long and (intentionally?) confusing article. Feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!
Doctors Killed in Plane Crash Vowed To Release Evidence Linking mRNA to Turbo Cancer
Eight cancer doctors who dedicated their lives to saving others and blowing the whistle on the devastating turbo cancer epidemic sweeping the world have been found dead.
The bodies of six world-leading oncologists and two resident medics were found on Friday in the wreckage of a plane that plunged from the sky in Brazil and exploded in a fireball, killing all 62 people on board.
The doctors were on their way to an international conference in Sao Paolo where they were set to present their findings that mRNA and the COVID-19 vaccines are responsible for the explosion of turbo cancers and autoimmune disease wreaking havoc around the world today.
Six leading oncologists and two resident medics were on their way to a blockbuster cancer conference in Sao Paulo when the twin-engine turboprop ATR 72-500 VoePass Airline flight plunged from the sky and crashed into a gated community.
The plane was at an altitude of 16,000 feet when it went into a “death spiral” and plummeted to the ground in fifty seconds.
Eyewitnesses who caught the crash on video said it appeared to stall before circling to the ground and bursting into flames at around 1.30pm local time
A total of 15 doctors were scheduled to take the doomed flight but miraculously seven had taken an earlier plane.
According to a colleague, the whistleblowing doctors were set to present evidence to the world that the public were misled about the nature of the mRNA COVID-19 injections.
The doctors on the doomed flight had concluded that governments and regulators must urgently recall the mRNA vaccines before even more harm is done.
Truth : Doctors with mRNA cancer evidence were not killed in plane crash!
This is yet another example of fake news created / promoted by The People’s Voice, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : Voepass Flight 2283 possibly crashed due to ice buildup
Let me start by pointing out that Flight 2283, which was operated by Voepass Linhas Aéreas, stalled and entered into a flat spin on 9 August 2024. After a rapid descent at around 13:22 local time, Flight 2283 crashed in Vinhedo, São Paulo, killing all 62 people onboard.
Both flight recorders from Flight 2283 were recovered, and the Brazilian Aeronautical Accidents Investigation and Prevention Center (CENIPA) is currently investigating the crash, together with the French Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA), and the Canadian Transportation Safety Board (TSB).
The authorities have yet to determine the actual cause of the crash, so anyone who claims that the crash was intentional in any way, is likely lying to you.
In fact, aviation experts say that ice buildup could have been a factor, as four ATR 72 aircraft crashed due to icing problems in the past – American Eagle Flight 4184, TransAsia Airways Flight 791, Aero Caribbean Flight 883, and UTair Flight 120.
Fact #2 : Doctors were not presenting mRNA turbo cancer evidence
I should also point out that the doctors onboard Flight 2283 were not on their way to present any evidence about mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, or turbo cancer at the oncology conference.
According to the Federal Council of Medicine (CFM), the doctors were heading to the oncology conference as part of their CME (Continuing Medical Education) – getting updates on oncology, and learning from their colleagues.
Translated : The CFM also expressed its solidarity with the victims’ families, stating that they were seeking knowledge and updates, which is a common and necessary practice among members of the profession.
Needless to say – the doctors onboard Flight 2283 have never called for governments and regulators to “urgently recall the mRNA vaccines”.
Unsurprisingly, The People’s Voice article did not provide any evidence to back up its “fact checked” claim that the doctors were headed to the conference to “present their findings that mRNA and the COVID-19 vaccines are responsible for the explosion of turbo cancers and autoimmune disease wreaking havoc around the world today“.
There is no such thing as “turbo cancer”, and after billions of doses have been administered worldwide in the past 3 years – there is still no evidence that any COVID-19 vaccine can cause cancer, or make cancer go “turbo”.
The US National Cancer Institute also clearly states that there is no evidence that any COVID-19 vaccines cause cancer, lead to recurrence, or lead to disease progression. It also pointedly stated that COVID-19 vaccines do not change your DNA.
Fact #4 : The People’s Voice Is Known For Fake News
The People’s Voice is the current name for NewsPunch, which possibly changed its name because its brand has been so thoroughly discredited after posting numerous shocking but fake stories.
Founded as Your News Wire in 2014, it was rebranded as NewsPunch in November 2018, before becoming The People’s Voice. A 2017 BuzzFeed report identified NewsPunch as the second-largest source of popular fake news on Facebook that year.
Its articles have been regularly debunked as fake news, so you should never share anything from NewsPunch / The People’s Voice. Here are some of its fake stories that I fact checked earlier:
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
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.
Celine Dion just died suddenly in the hospital?! Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!
Updated @ 2023-06-24 : Added video, and updated with new examples, etc.
Updated @ 2024-02-24 : Added new updates, including updated MediaMass claim. Originally posted @ 2023-04-17
Claim : Celine Dion Just Died Suddenly In Hospital!
People are sharing YouTube and TikTok videos claiming that Celine Dion just died in a hospital from Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS), or after a tragic car / plane crash, with titles like :
30 minutes ago, R.I.P. Celine Dion (†55) Died on the way to the hospital, Farewell in tears
1 Hour Ago / R.I.P Celine Dion Died In France / Fans send their condolences to the singer
Very sad 10 minutes ago / Singer Celine Dion dies in hospital / goodbye Celine Dion
15 minutes ago. Actress Celine Dion Saying Goodbye
10 Minutes Ago/ R.I.P. Celine Dion /She died of a dangerous incurable disease/Goodbye Celine
A video is coming forward that a famous name is in the headlines that a famous singer Celine Dion passed away in a plane crash.
Big Shock // “Celine Dion” Dies Suddenly At The Hospital // Heartbreaking Secret…
Stopped breathing 10 minutes ago / Celine Dion dies in hospital / goodbye Celine Dion
5 minutes ago! Millions of people cried over the sudden death of Singer Celine Dion, sad details…
Celine Dion Passed Away A Few Minutes Ago At Her Home. Funeral Held In Hollywood For 3 Days
1 Hour Ago / R.I.P Celine Dion Died In France / We Will Miss Your Voice So Much!
5 minutes ago/ R.I.P Talented Singer Céline Dion passed away at the age of 55, Goodbye and Rest
A few minutes ago in London / Died in a car accident / R.I.P. legendary singer Celine Dion
30 minutes ago / The family announced the sad news of Legend singer Celine Dion / Farewell in tears
5 Minutes Ago / Celine Dion OFFICIALLY DIES On 25/11/2023 / R.I.P.
Rest in peace Celine Dion (1968-2023). Fans send their condolences to the singer
1968-2023 Celine Dion RIP | Farewell to the legendary singer / Farewell to Celine
Truth : Celine Dion Did Not Die Suddenly In Hospital!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created and propagated by people to generate income from page views and YouTube advertising, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : No Legitimate Media Outlet Reported Her Death
These YouTube videos have been circulating for weeks and months, but people don’t seem to notice that no legitimate media has reported her death or car accident!
When Celine Dion announced that she was suffering from Stiff Person Syndrome, the media breathlessly reported it around the globe.
Celine Dion is not just a famous singer. She is a national treasure in Canada, and a music legend. If she fell and broke a nail, you can be sure that celebrity blogs would have excitedly reported it, if not the mainstream media.
Yet, no legitimate media outlet or even a celebrity blog reported that Celine Dion was involved in any car or plane crash, much less died in a hospital of a “dangerous, incurable disease”. That’s because it never happened!
Fact #2 : Celine Dion Is Still Alive!
The truth is – Celine Dion (born Céline Marie Claudette Dion on 30 March, 1968) is very much still alive, as of Monday, 24 June 2024! Of course, you guys want “proof of life”, right?
Well, just last week, Celine Dion appeared at a screening of her documentary – I Am: Celine Dion in New York City on Monday, 17 June 2024. She looked well, wearing a silky white blouse top and matching maxi skirt, as she posed as the screening.
Needless to say – Celine Dion is very much still alive. She doesn’t even need to use a wheelchair, even though she is still suffering from Stiff Person Syndrome!
I analysed the photos used in these videos, and traced the origin of two examples used in many of these videos.
This is a pretty good Photoshop effort, although you can see how Celine Dion’s dark brown hair suddenly became grey hair. And of course, you have to wonder why Celine Dion would still has her makeup on!
The truth is the fake news created edited the photo of Jan Key – a 65 year-old lady from Kalamazoo, Michigan, who was hit by a car on November 21, 2019.
The photo was taken by her daughter, Kitty Jenkins, on November 26, after Jan Key underwent a second surgery for her broken arm and collarbone. She underwent emergency surgery five days ago to treat her broken leg.
This photo, on the other hand, is a pretty bad Photoshop edit of a photo taken at the August 2018 funeral of Oliver Dragojević – a famous Croatian singer and composer.
To make it look like a Celine Dion funeral, the fake news creator added Lady Gaga appearing to cry, and unbelievably – René Angélil was edited in, with a portrait of Celine Dion magically floating in front of him.
For those who are not aware, René Angélil was Celine Dion’s manager who eventually married her on December 17, 1994. The only problem is – René Angélil died many years ago – on January 14, 2016 from throat cancer!
But I would like to give a special Bad Photoshop award to the fake news creator who came up with this gem.
Not only did he/she use the visage of a smiling Celine Dion, it was stitched on so badly, it’s really, REALLY funny!
Celine Dion, who was supposed to be dying in hospital from a terrible car accident, not only has both her eyes open and smiling, it looked the accident smashed her face sideways!
What a terrible, terrible Photoshop edit! If you are going to cheat people, at least put in some effort!
Fact #4 : Celine Dion Death Hoax Is Driven By Fake Fact Check Too
This Celine Dion death hoax is, sadly, also being driven by a fake fact check article by the MediaMass Project, which keeps “updating” the dates in their fake fact check article:
News of singer Céline Dion’s death spread quickly earlier this week causing concern among fans across the world. However the June 2024 report has now been confirmed as a complete hoax and just the latest in a string of fake celebrity death reports. Thankfully, the singer best known for hit songs like S’il suffisait d’aimer, My Heart Will Go On or Pour que tu m’aimes encore is alive and well.
Rumors of the singer’s alleged demise gained traction on Thursday after a ‘R.I.P. Céline Dion’ Facebook page attracted nearly one million of ‘likes’. Those who read the ‘About’ page were given a believable account of the singer’s passing:
“At about 11 a.m. ET on Saturday (June 22, 2024), our beloved singer Céline Dion passed away. Céline Dion was born on March 30, 1968 in Repentigny. She will be missed but not forgotten. Please show your sympathy and condolences by commenting on and liking this page.”
Hundreds of fans immediately started writing their messages of condolence on the Facebook page, expressing their sadness that the talented 56-year-old singer was dead. And as usual, Twittersphere was frenzied over the death hoax.
Where as some trusting fans believed the post, others were immediately skeptical of the report, perhaps learning their lesson from the huge amount of fake death reports emerging about celebrities over recent months. Some pointed out that the news had not been carried on any major network, indicating that it was a fake report, as the death of a singer of Céline Dion’s stature would be major news across networks.
Their claim of a viral R.I.P. Celine Dion Facebook page is false. There is no such Facebook page. It is their standard fake fact check spiel for fake celebrity deaths.
She joins the long list of celebrities who have been victimized by this hoax. She’s still alive and well, stop believing what you see on the Internet.
Hidden in the description page for the MediaMass Project is a disclaimer that they are a “satire” website. That’s the usual “cover” for websites peddling fake news.
Regardless of their reasons, anything posted by MediaMass.net must be considered as fake news, until proven otherwise.
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
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.
Do Boeing 777 airliners have a fatal flaw, that could result in its fuel tank catching fire and exploding?! Find out what’s going on!
Claim : Boeing 777 Fuel Tank Can Explode From Fatal Flaw!
Boeing is in the hot seat again, after the Daily Mail and the New York Post reported that its 777 airliner has a fatal flaw that could result in its fuel tank catching fire and exploding!
Daily Mail : Exclusive – Revealed: 300 Boeing Planes used by United and American Airlines have potential flaw that could cause ‘fire or explosion’ on jets, according to FAA
The FAA proposed a new airworthiness directive earlier this year to address a potential flaw in Boeing jets, DailyMail.com can reveal.
According to the FAA proposal, the issue involved an electrical fault on the company’s 777 jets that, if left unaddressed, could cause fuel tanks on the planes’ wings to catch fire and explode.
Discovery of the flaw exposes that nearly 300 more Boeing planes are potentially at risk, including jets used by United and American Airlines, according to the notice by the Federal Aviation Administration.
New York Post : FAA reveals flaw in another major Boeing plane that could result in fuel tank exploding
Yet another fleet of Boeing airplanes was found to have a potentially disastrous flaw — one that could set the entire aircraft ablaze.
The aircraft manufacturer discovered that its 777 liner has poor electrical insulation near its fuel tank, according to a proposed rule the Federal Aviation Administration posted in March.
“This condition, if not addressed, could result in an ignition source inside the fuel tank and subsequent fire or explosion,” the Airworthiness Directives note states.
Boeing + FAA Deny 777 Fuel Tanks Can Explode From Fatal Flaw!
After the reports came out, both Boeing and the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) pushed back on those claims.
The FAA said that it was not an immediate safety risk, while Boeing said that the regulatory process was being “sensationalised“, and called the Daily Mail’s report as “misleading and reckless“.
It makes incorrect connections and sensationalizes the standard regulatory process that has helped ensure air travel is the safest form of transportation.
This is not an immediate safety of flight issue. There are multiple redundancies designed into modern commercial airplanes to ensure protection for electromagnetic effects.
The 777 fleet has been operating for nearly 30 years, and has safely flown more than 3.9 billion passengers.
It should be noted that Boeing described this problem in a November 2023 alert bulletin. While it was not mandatory, it is likely that many airlines have already taken action, or are planning to fix the flaw, based on that Boeing alert.
The FAA also pointed out that its proposed airworthiness directive was based on the 21 November 2023 alert by Boeing, and would make mandatory what Boeing recommended.
The proposed [airworthiness directive], which the FAA issued in March 2024, would require installing electrical bonding and grounding to a component in the center fuel tank. It would make mandatory service actions that Boeing described in a November 2023 alert bulletin.
I should point out that the flaw is not due to “poor electrical insulation” as the New York Post reported – the word “insulation” isn’t even mentioned once in the FAA notice. Rather, the flaw is due to a lack of an electrical bond to ground a cover plate – like a wire or something similarly conductive to dissipate any accumulated static.
In addition, it was not the FAA that came up with the solution. The FAA notice actually referred to the Boeing service bulletin of 21 November 2023 (PDF), which had detailed instructions on the fix!
Guidance for accomplishing the actions required by this AD can be found in Boeing Alert Service Bulletin 777–47A0007, dated November 21, 2023, which is referred to in Boeing Alert Requirements Bulletin 777–47A0007 RB, dated November 21, 2023.
The Boeing 777 requirements bulletin also listed a “recommended compliance time” of 42 months – 3.5 years, which suggests that Boeing does not consider it an immediate threat to aircraft safety. The FAA also concurred in its airworthiness directive proposal.
I should also point out that modern airliners like the Boeing 777 come with nitrogen-generating or nitrogen-inerting systems to reduce the risk of fuel tank explosions, after the tragic explosion of TWA Flight 800 in 1996.
Boeing uses a Nitrogen Generation System (NGS) in its aircraft, which separates oxygen-rich air from the left engine’s bleed air, which is discharged from the aircraft. The remaining nitrogen-enriched air is pumped into the centre fuel tank.
As more nitrogen-enriched air is pumped into the centre fuel tank, the oxygen level drops from the usual 21% to 12% or less – at which point the oxygen concentration is too low to support combustion, thus mitigating the risk of an explosion.
In fact, the proposed FAA airworthiness directive specifically points to the Boeing 777’s nitrogen enriched air distribution system (NEADS). Ironically, the NEADS cover plate assembly is the potential source of electrostatic discharge.
So Boeing and the FAA would be correct that even though the cover plate assembly lacked “a designed electrical bond for electrostatic discharge“, there is no immediate safety risk, as there are redundancies built in, like the nitrogen-enriched air.
In short – this is hardly the “fatal flaw” that some people are claiming, and it can be easily resolved by simply installing an electrical bond at less than $2,400 per aircraft – mostly in manpower costs.
That said, you will want to eliminate all potential causes of sparking in the fuel tank, no matter how remote, even if there are other protective measures in place. Hopefully, the FAA will soon issue this airworthiness directive to make it mandatory, instead of optional.
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
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.
Watch out for the Malaysia Airlines free flight scam, and find out why you really cannot get 6 months of free flights for just RM8.80!
Malaysia Airlines Free Flight Scam : What Is It?!
Many people are seeing advertisements on Facebook promoting a Malaysia Airlines Enrich card, which claims to offer 6 months of free flights for just RM8.80!
Malaysia Airlines Free Flight Scam : What You Must Know!
This is yet another scam circulating on Facebook, and here are reasons why…
Fact #1 : No Laws Requiring Malaysia Airlines To Sell Cheap Tickets
First, let me just point out that there is no law requiring Malaysia Airlines to sell flight tickets at such ridiculous prices.
Think about it – you can’t even get a taxi ride for RM8.80 these days, and you expect to travel for free on Malaysia Airlines for 6 months???
Even when AirAsia promoted its Unlimited Pass for domestic flights at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was priced at RM399 and had a lot of restrictions.
Fact #2 : Malaysia Airlines Called It A Scam
To convince you that it’s genuine, and not a scam, the scammers use alternate accounts to post comments, claiming that they received the card, or they confirmed with Malaysia Airlines that the offer is genuine:
I called the Malaysia Airlines hotline to clarify if this promotion exists or it is the work of scammers. The airline manager has confirmed that this is a limited promotion only for Facebook users. Now I’m waiting for my card 🔥
Well, I called up Malaysia Airlines myself, and the staff member confirmed that it is a scam. She also informed me that they received several calls about this scam.
To be clear – there is no such free flight promotion from Malaysia Airlines.
Fact #3 : Enrich Is Malaysia Airlines’ Loyalty Card
To convince you that it’s a genuine deal, the scammers use alternate accounts to post photos of the Malaysia Airlines Enrich card they allegedly received through this promotion.
The trouble is – Enrich is the frequent flyer program for Malaysia Airlines. It’s free for anyone to sign up for Enrich loyalty program and receive a card like that. There is no need to pay RM8.80 for an Enrich card.
The Blue card you see below is actually the basic tier that everyone gets when they sign up for Enrich. Only after flying multiple flights on MAS will Enrich members be able to upgrade to the Silver, Gold, and Platinum tiers.
Fact #4 : Those Are Fake Enrich Cards!
If you look closely at the Enrich cards being shown by these scammers, you will notice a few problems.
None of them have the member’s name, or the membership number! They all state “Name Of Card Holder” and the Member ID is **********, making them fake Enrich cards!
On top of that, the fake Enrich cards state “Card For 6 Free Flight“. Not only is that poor grammar – flights, not flight, it also runs counter to the scam promotion, which claims to offer 6 months of free flights, not just 6 free flights!
Fact #5 : That’s Not The Official Malaysia Airlines Page
The scam is being run out of the Promotion | Malaysia Airlines page on Facebook. It is not the official Malaysia Airlines Facebook page, which is at https://www.facebook.com/malaysiaairlines/.
This fake Malaysia Airlines page is also new, apparently created on 19 March 2024.
If Malaysia Airlines has any promotion on its flights, it would be posted on its official website, or its official Facebook page. Never on a completely new Facebook page.
Fact #6 : Scam Leads To Non-MAS Website
If you click on the scam page to order the fake Malaysia Airlines free flights card, you will be taken to a website using the domain gizmoshp.store, which appears to be a placeholder page with Polish text.
It is likely that the scammers keyed in the wrong URL, or their scam page wasn’t been setup properly. Or the page may have malicious scripts.
In any case, please do NOT click on the order button, or attempt to visit this website.
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
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.
Is the FAA planning to eliminate white men from the aviation industry?! Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : FAA Plans To Eliminate White Men From Aviation Industry!
People are sharing an article (archive) by The People’s Voice (formerly NewsPunch), which claims or suggests that the FAA just admitted its plan is to eliminate white men from the aviation industry, while fast tracking disabled minorities into key roles like pilots and air traffic controllers!
Here is an excerpt from the long, and (intentionally?) rambling article. Feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!
FAA Admits Plan Is To ‘Eliminate White Men’ From Aviation Industry
A leaked Zoom call recording shows Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials admitting that the plan is to completely eliminate white men from the aviation industry while fast tracking disabled minorities into key roles like pilots and air traffic controllers.
The DailyWire’s Matt Walsh obtained the leaked Zoom call from 2022 between senior officials at the FAA’s Flight Program Operations division talking about implementing Diversity Equity and Inclusion measures in the aviation industry.
“The footage begins with FAA acting deputy chief operating officer Angela McCullough saying more workers need to go from ‘ramp to cockpit,’ meaning she wants to see more baggage handlers become airline pilots,” Walsh declared on X.
Infowars.com reports: McCullough then complains that Flight Operations is “white-male dominated” and tells the managers they need to “talk about what the future could look like.”
But the DEI insanity extends far beyond the pilots. According to Walsh, an “industry-wide embrace of overt mental illness afflicts every aspect of aviation.”
And “billions of dollars in critical grant funding” is going to DEI programs and initiatives rather than other important aspects of the industry.
This comes after the FAA announced a diversity push that would include focusing on hiring people with “severe intellectual” and “psychiatric” disabilities.
Truth : FAA Does Not Plan To Eliminate White Men From Aviation Industry!
This is yet another example of fake news created / promoted by The People’s Voice, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : FAA Is A US Federal Government Agency
Let me just start by pointing out that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a US federal government agency. It only has powers over civil aviation in the United States, and its surrounding international waters.
The FAA has no power or authority over civil aviation in the rest of the world.
It is therefore impossible for the FAA to “completely eliminate white men from the aviation industry“, even if it really wanted to do that (which it doesn’t).
Fact #2 : Video Does Not Show FAA Plan To Eliminate White Men
Nothing posted by Matt Walsh, Infowars, or The People’s Voice, show the FAA admitting to any plan to eliminate white men from the aviation industry.
The leaked video only shows what appears to be an FAA internal meeting on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) measures that the aviation industry can adopt to make flight operations more inclusive and representative of the population.
In fact, FAA Acting Deputy Chief Operating Officer Angela McCullough is seen stating talking about potentially developing “partnerships” with university or trade schools to encourage a more diverse flight operations team.
Are there opportunities for any partnerships with universities or trade schools which specialised… we kinda talked about from ramp to cockpit. There are some things we would want to look at.
Unfortunately, the video ended abruptly at that point, which makes me wonder – could the video be missing context about what Angela McCullough was saying in that meeting?
But even without the rest of the video, you can see that Angela never once said that she or the FAA planned to eliminate white men from the aviation industry.
In fact, Matt Walsh himself did not even claim that the FAA plans to eliminate all white men from the aviation industry. So why would anyone make that claim based on his posts???
Fact #3 : There’s Nothing Wrong With Retraining People
It is uncertain what Angela McCullough meant by “from ramp to cockpit”, but it could simply mean offering people working in aviation ramp operations the opportunity to train and become pilots.
There is nothing wrong with retraining people for a different job, if that’s what the industry needs, and if they are interested and capable in the new job.
People can, and do, learn new skills to change jobs and even industries. As long as they are qualified for those new jobs, what exactly is wrong with that?
Only fools would believe that the FAA will ever let baggage handlers become airline pilots without training or passing qualification tests.
Fact #4 : Being Transgender Is Not A Mental Illness
Matt Walsh appears to suggest or claim that being transgender is an “overt mental illness”. That’s just not true.
Being transgender was once considered a psychological problem that can be treated. However, the American Psychiatric Association revised its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in 2012, to remove being transgender as a mental disorder.
With the release of DSM-5 in 2013, being transgender itself is no longer a mental disorder. Some transgender people are now diagnosed with “gender dysphoria”, if they face emotional stress related to their gender identity.
All psychiatric diagnoses occur within a cultural context. We know there is a whole community of people out there who are not seeking medical attention and live between the two binary categories. We wanted to send the message that the therapist’s job isn’t to pathologize. – Jack Drescher, a member of the APA subcommittee responsible for the change
Just because someone disagrees with the American Psychiatric Association’s definition, does not mean that the aviation industry is embracing “overt mental illness”.
The People’s Voice article used a photo of two young black female pilots (above). On of the off-chance that it was chosen to convey the perception that unqualified female minority pilots may soon begin putting your lives at risk, let me just say that it couldn’t be further from the truth.
The two female pilots are Captain Tara Wright, and First Officer Mallory Cave. They made made history on 13 May 2018, as the first African-American female flight crew to fly an Alaska Airlines flight from San Francisco to Portland.
Not only are they both fully-qualified pilots, Captain Wright was also the first-ever African-American female pilot to fly for US Airways, before becoming its first African-American female pilot to be promoted to Captain in 2017.
Captain Wright is only the 7th African-American woman to ever become a captain in any major airline, which points to the lack of diversity and representation in the aviation industry.
Fact #6 : The People’s Voice Is Known For Publishing Fake News
The People’s Voice is the current name for NewsPunch, which possibly changed its name because its brand has been so thoroughly discredited after posting numerous shocking but fake stories.
Founded as Your News Wire in 2014, it was rebranded as NewsPunch in November 2018, before becoming The People’s Voice. A 2017 BuzzFeed report identified NewsPunch as the second-largest source of popular fake news on Facebook that year.
Its articles have been regularly debunked as fake news, so you should never share anything from NewsPunch / The People’s Voice. Here are some of its fake stories that I fact checked earlier:
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
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.
Find out how to renew your Malaysian passport online through the MyOnline Passport service in 2024!
You Must Renew Your Malaysian Passport Online!
MyOnline Passport is a service by the Immigration Department of Malaysia, which allows you to renew your Malaysian passports online.
On 11 May 2022, the Immigration Department stopped allowing most people to walk-in for their passport renewal. Except for a selected group of people, everyone else must renew their passports online.
The MyOnline Passport service was originally designed by the Immigration Department of Malaysia as a convenient, online way for people to renew their Malaysian international passports.
However, it is now the only way to renew your Malaysian passport for most people, from 11 May 2022 onwards. Here is what you need to know about the process.
Only For International Passport Renewals
The first thing you must be aware is that MyOnline Passport can only be used to renew existing international passports issued by the Immigration Department of Malaysia.
You cannot use it to apply for a new passport, or to replace a stolen or damaged passport. You also cannot use it to renew special or restricted passports.
To apply for a new passport, or to replace a stolen / damaged passport, or renew special or restricted passports, you must walk-in.
Children who are less than 13 years old, special needs individuals, and those performing the Haj, must also walk-in to renew their passports.
Who Can Apply For Online Passport Renewal?
The MyOnline Passport service is only open to applicants 13 years and older, with existing Malaysian e-passports (passport with microchip).
Underaged applicants (13-18 years old) must have the consent of their parent(s) / legal guardian(s) to apply online, and the parent(s) / legal guardian(s) must be present during the collection of passport.
Can Overseas Citizens Use MyOnline Passport?
This service is also open to Malaysian citizens living overseas, with collection centres in these countries :
If you submit the online application before 3 PM on a working day, you will be able to collect the new passport on the same day.
If you submit the online application after 3 PM on a working day, or anytime during a holiday, you can collect the new passport after 10 AM on the following working day.
Where Do You Collect The Passport?
Applicants can collect their renewed passports from a Passport Recipient and Issuance Office of their choice, from a list in the system.
The collection date and time will be provided, depending on the date and time the application was submitted.
How Much Does It Cost?
The MyOnline Passport service is free. You only need to pay for the standard Malaysian international passport renewal fees :
13 to 59 Years Old : RM200
Above 60 Years Old : RM100
Payment must be made via a credit card or debit card / direct debit (FPX) on the website.
Key in your 12-digit MyKad identity card number (without dash).
Click on the Check button.
If you get the green No restriction result, then you may apply to renew your passport online.
What Is Required To Submit An Application?
Here is what you need to have, before applying for online renewal of your Malaysian international passport.
an existing Malaysia e-passport (passport with microchip) that is not defaced or water-damaged
a digital passport-sized photo with these specifications :
a) background must be white, and without shadows (coloured backgrounds will not be accepted)
b) applicants must wear dark clothing that cover the shoulders and chest.
c) applicants who wear a scarf or hijab must wear dark-coloured scarf / hijab, and it must not cover the face.
d) uploaded photo must have been taken at a professional photo studio, in the format provided by the photo studio. Polaroid photos will not be accepted.
e) applications that do not meet these specifications will be put on-hold, resulting in delayed issuance and collection.
f) you may have your passport photo taken at the Passport Recipient and Issuance Office you selected to collect your passport, if your passport photo does not meet the required specifications
a valid credit card / debit card / online bank account to make the required payment
In addition, you must be sure that :
you are able to physically collect the new passport in-person (a representative may not collect for you)
for underaged applicants : both applicant and parent(s) / legal guardian(s) must be present to collect the new passport
Passport Photo Specifications
Here are the latest specifications for online submission of passport photos (source | source):
Background must be white and without shadows. Coloured backgrounds will not be accepted.
Applicants are required to wear dark clothing that cover the shoulders and chest.
Applicants may wear dark-coloured scarfs or hijabs but they must not cover the face.
Applicants must not wear glasses, coloured contact lenses, or hair/head accessories. Hair should not cover the face.
Applicants must look directly at the camera, with both eyes open, and the mouth closed.
You must take the photo at a professional photo studio, and upload the soft copy in the format provided by the photo studio. Polaroid pictures will not be accepted.
If the photo you upload do not meet the specifications, your application will be put on-hold, and you will be asked to resubmit the photo, or get one taken at a passport office.
Finally, when it’s time to collect your renewed passport, please make sure you bring :
your MyKad identification card
your existing Malaysian international passport
the payment receipt issued by the system
for underaged applicants : your parent(s) / legal guardian(s) must bring your Birth Certificate
You cannot send a representative to collect your passport. If you fail to bring the necessary documents, or collect your passport in person, the renewed passport will not be released.
Underage applicants must be accompanied by their parent(s) / legal guardian(s), or their renewed passport will not be released.
You may make multiple passport renewals, but you must submit one application per person.
Please avoid registering from 10:55 PM to 12:30 AM, because that’s when the system undergoes daily maintenance and no payment can be processed during that time.
If You Get An Error Message…
If you get an error message while making payment, please contact your bank for further instructions.
If your photo was rejected, you can upload a new photo, or have your passport photo taken at the Passport Recipient and Issuance Office you selected to collect your passport.
If you get this error message – “Kindly contact the Immigration Department of Malaysia”, it means your online application was unsuccessful for one of these reasons :
The file containing your fingerprint was damaged or deleted. You will be required to go to the passport office to have your fingerprint taken again, to avoid problems at the airport arrival / departure gates.
Your application does not meet with the specifications listed on MyOnline Passport.
The information provided was inaccurate, and/or contradicts the information in the Immigration Department system.
How To Resubmit Photo / Supporting Documents
If you need to resubmit your photo or supporting documents, please use these links :
Please use this link to check your passport renewal status.
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
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.
Did five SIA pilots die suddenly from COVID-19 vaccine side effects, after Singapore Airlines demanded that they get fully-vaccinated?!
Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Five Singapore Airlines Pilots Died Suddenly From Vaccine In 7 Months!
People are sharing obituary photos of five SIA pilots, suggesting that they died suddenly from COVID-19 vaccine side effects, after Singapore Airlines demanded that they get fully-vaccinated!
aussie17 : 5th Singapore Airlines Pilot died last week in a span of 7 months.
The airline has apprx 3000 pilots. can someone calculate the odds?
Jack Straw : 5th Singapore Airlines pilot died last week in a span of 7 months
Why do you think all private jet owners and cabal elites these days only employ unvaccinated pilots?
No Evidence Any SIA Pilots Died From COVID-19 Vaccine!
It’s now tradition for anti-vaccination activists to immediately blame all sudden 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 : Their Cause Of Death Are Unknown
First, let me just confirm that there were indeed five Singapore Airlines pilots who died between the months of May and December 2023, based on their obituaries:
However, none of their obituaries mentioned their individual cause of death. They also do not appear to have any social media accounts, or families posting about their deaths on social media.
Some netizens have claimed that Captains Wee Leong and Colin Tan died suddenly from cardiac arrest, while Captains Fernando Cid and Sebastian Tan died from cancer. It is unknown if any of those causes of death are accurate.
Until and unless Singapore Airlines, or the families of the five pilots, publicly announce their individual cause of death, anyone who tells you that they died of this or that cause is likely lying to you.
Fact #2 : No Evidence SIA Required Additional Vaccine Doses
In January 2021, Singapore Airlines (SIA) announced that it hopes to become the world’s first airline to vaccinated all of its crew members against COVID-19. SIA set a deadline of September 1, and managed to vaccinate 99% of its active pilots, cabin crew and frontline ground crew by 19 August 2021.
However, there is no evidence that Singapore Airlines demanded that its pilots and cabin crew get additional doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. As of January 2024, the Singapore Ministry of Health only recommends that senior citizens 60 years and older, medically vulnerable people, and residents of aged care facilities receive an updated COVID-19 vaccine dose. Even then, that was a “recommendation”, not a requirement.
It is unlikely for Singapore Airlines to mandate additional COVID-19 vaccine doses, when the Singapore Ministry of Health did not recommend it for healthy young or middle-aged adults.
Until and unless Singapore Airlines, or the families of the four pilots, confirm it, anyone who tells you that the five SIA pilots received additional COVID-19 vaccine doses is likely lying to you.
Fact #3 : Singapore Airlines Had About 3,000 Pilots In 2022
In May 2022 (last year), SIA Chief Executive Goh Choon Phong announced that Singapore Airlines was looking to recruit 2,000 cabin crew as air travel was picking up.
While he declined to say how many pilots SIA employed in 2022, he said that the number of pilots at SIA Group is still similar to pre-COVID-19 numbers, with just “a very small number” who have left. Pre-pandemic, Singapore Airlines had about 3,200 pilots.
While it may shocking to hear that five SIA pilots died in 2023, it is not really shocking when you factor in the death rate in Singapore, which is 5.8 per 1,000 (2021).
Assuming Singapore Airlines only has 3,000 pilots, it should expect 17 of its pilots to die on a given year, or about 1.5 pilots a month. Five pilots dying in 2023 is therefore exceptionally low.
Anti-vaccine activists are holding up pilots as healthier and less likely to die than the general population. But that’s not quite true.
Past studies (example | example) and a recent April 2023 narrative review have shown that airline pilots not only die at a younger age than the general population, they are also at greater risk of suffering from cancers like malignant melanoma, cardiovascular diseases, and cataracts.
So is it
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!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
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.
Did a Grab delivery rider really fly from Thailand to buy chicken rice in Singapore?!
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Grab Delivery Rider Flew To Singapore To Buy Chicken Rice!
A TikTok video, which allegedly shows a Grab delivery rider flying from Thailand to Singapore, simply to buy chicken rice, has racked up millions of views.
The 27-second video was recorded and posted by a Thai TikToker called Thita Vy, with these comments:
I want to eat Tokyo snacks.Will he go buy it in Japan for me? #grab #grabth
She apparently encountered this Grab delivery rider, while flying from Bangkok to Singapore. At first, she thought someone had ordered food delivery at the airport. But the man allegedly told her that he had been asked by a customer in Thailand to buy chicken rice in Singapore!
The viral video shows the man queuing up for the flight with the signature green Grab thermal bag, while holding a passport with his flight ticket. He is then shown stowing the thermal bag in the plane’s overhead compartment.
Truth : That’s Not (Really) A Grab Delivery Rider!
Now, we all know that chicken rice in Malaysia is tastier (and much cheaper!) than chicken rice in Singapore, Heck, everything is tastier and cheaper in Malaysia! 😉
In fact, Malaysian food is so delicious, someone actually sent a helicopter to collect 36 packets of Nasi Ganja from a famous nasi kandar outlet Ipoh in July 2021! But I digress…
Here is what we know so far about this viral story about chicken rice…
Fact #1 : Video Was Allegedly Recorded At DMK
According to the media outlet, 8world, the TikToker alleged that the incident occurred on 12 October 2023, at the Don Mueang International Airport.
That is plausible because the video shows people boarding an AirAsia flight, and AirAsia flies from the Bangkok Don Mueang Airport (DMK) to Changi International Airport (SIN) several times a day.
Fact #2 : The Man Flew From Bangkok To Singapore
The video shows the man holding a Thai passport, as he is waiting to board the AirAsia flight. It then cuts to the Changi International Airport, where the man is seen checking the green Grab thermal bag.
So the video does appear to show the man taking an AirAsia flight from Bangkok to Singapore. It, however, does not show him actually purchasing any chicken rice.
Fact #3 : Grab Labelled Video As Fictional
After the video went viral, Grab came out to refute the video, calling it “fictional”:
We understand that the fictional video was created by a member of the public independently.
Fact #4 : Man Was Not A Registered Grab Delivery Rider
In addition, a Grab spokesperson said that it does not offer cross-border food delivery services, and the man in the video was not registered with them as “a delivery partner”:
We do not offer such a service, and the person starring as a delivery partner in the video is not registered with Grab.
It is certainly plausible for rich folks to go to extreme measures to get their favourite foods. For example, Macau tycoon Stanley Ho famously sent 88 Musang King (Mao Shan Wang) durians on a private plane from Singapore to Hong Kong. Note – the durians were from Malaysia. 😉
That said, it doesn’t make sense for the man to put on a Grab uniform, or bring the Grab thermal bag… especially if he isn’t actually a Grab delivery rider!
Fact #5 : Grab Does Not Offer Cross-Border Food Deliveries
Grab said that it does not offer cross-border food deliveries. The only cross-border delivery service Grab offers is its 100+ Cities Delivery service, which is in beta testing.
Even that option only allows users to “order and send food and physical gifts from GrabFood and GrabMart merchant-partners that are available in the recipient’s city within an hour”.
In other words – the food and physical gifts must already be present in the recipient’s city. The only thing that is “cross-border” is the ability to order from another country.
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
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.
Truth : Viral Video Does Not Show Bangkok Mall Shooting!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS circulating on WhatsApp and social media, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : Video Was Posted In Douyin
I traced the video that was posted to Douyin – China’s version of TikTok. The original poster (OP) is a Douyin user called Master ho (@yzz945201314), and here is the direct link to the video.
Fact #2 : Video Was Posted In August 2023
Master ho posted the video on 9 August 2023. The Siam Paragon mall shooting in Bangkok only occurred on 3 October 2023 – almost two months later.
So there is simply impossible for the viral video to be of the Siam Paragon mall shooting in Bangkok.
Fact #3 : Video Was Recorded In Phuket In June 2023
Even though the viral video was only posted to Douyin in August, it was originally recorded more than a month earlier – on Friday, 28 June 2023.
It was also not recorded in the Siam Paragon Mall in Bangkok. Rather, it was recorded in the Domestic Terminal of the Phuket International Airport.
If you look carefully at the video, you will notice the airport check-in counters, and people carrying luggages. The video was obviously recorded at an airport, and not a mall.
Fact #4 : Siam Paragon Shooter Was Only Armed With Pistol
The Siam Paragon mall shooter was an unnamed 14 year-old teenager from the nearby private secondary school – The Essence.
The boy was only armed with a modified Glock 9mm pistol, and did not have any long guns with him.
The shooter in the viral video was not only armed with a handgun, he also had what looked like an automatic rifle.
Fact #5 : It Was An Active Shooter Drill
The viral video does not show any actual crime, or gun violence taking place. It was an emergency security drill to simulate a response to an “active shooter” in the Phuket International Airport. In the photo above, you can even see a man taking photos or videos of the drill!
The drill was called “Full-scal exercise of Phuket International Airport Emergency Plan (PEMEX 2023), and conducted on the second floor of the Domestic Terminal, at around 11 PM – -after boarding for the final departing domestic flight had cleared the area.
The exercise was designed to simulate the coordinated response of security and anti-terrorism personnel to an active shooter taking hostages in the domestic terminal area. Thai agencies and personnel that took part in this PEMEX 2023 exercise included:
Thai Provincial Police Region 8
Sakhu Police
Phuket Airline Operations Committee (AOC)
Airports of Thailand ground service company (AOTGA)
Airports of Thailand private security company (AOT AVSEC)
Vachira Phuket Hospital
Phuket Provincial Public Health Office
Subdistrict Administrative Organisations (OrBorTor) for Mai Khao, Sakhu, and Thepkrasattri.
The truth is – anyone who analyses the video will realise that there are many “issues” with this video:
the gunshots do not sound like real gunshots
gunshots ring out even when the gunman isn’t shooting
none of the victims are bleeding
the person recording the video is bravely standing up to record the video for almost 2.5 minutes
the person recording the video can be heard laughing at around 0:18 in the video
at around 1:30, another man can be seen recording the scene from the upper floor
Fact #7 : OP Likely Reposted From A Different Source
The Douyin poster, Master ho, does not appear to be the person recording the video. He mistakenly labelled the location as Songkhla Airport – more accurately known as the Hat Yai International Airport in the Songkhla Province.
泰国宋卡机场发生枪击事件,听说是演习农 因 因 因
A shooting incident occurred at Songkhla Airport in Thailand. It was said that it an exercise.
However, he clearly stated in the description, and his subsequent comments, that it was just a drill.
Whoever copied this video from his Douyin account is certainly aware that the video was of an airport drill, and posted almost 3 months earlier.
The only conclusion we can draw from this is that – whoever copied the video to share in October 2023, is intentionally trying to mislead people.
Please help us fight fake news – SHARE this article, and SUPPORT our work!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
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.
Infowars has been proven wrong about its claims that the Biden Administration will introduce a face mask mandate in September 2023!
Claim : Biden Admin Will Order Face Mask Mandate!
People have been sharing an Infowars article which claimed that the Biden Administration will order a new face mask mandate for TSA and airport employees, followed by “full Covid lockdowns“. Here is an excerpt:
Biden Regime to Reinstate COVID-19 Restrictions Beginning with Mask Mandate as “COVID Cases Rise”, Say TSA and Border Patrol Whistleblowers
The Biden regime is preparing to reinstate full COVID-19 lockdowns, beginning with masking mandates for TSA and airport employees reportedly as early as mid-September, Infowars first to report.
A high-level TSA official reached out to Infowars, detailing a Tuesday meeting where TSA managers were informed of new memorandums and policies that would reimplement mask-wearing.
These policies will reinstate the mask mandate for TSA and airport employees starting in mid-September.
The official added that by mid-October, mask-wearing will be mandated for pilots, flight staff, passengers, and all airport patrons.
Following this disclosure from the TSA official, Infowars reached out to a trusted Border Patrol source, also in a managerial position.
This source corroborated the directives, confirming that similar measures were being planned for Border Patrol personnel.
“They were told it was not a matter of “if” but “when” official Covid numbers will go back up and they expect by mid-October a return to forced-masking policies that the Biden administration previously only reluctantly ended after massive pressure,” Infowars reported.
Infowars Proven Wrong About Biden Face Mask Mandate!
Infowars first claimed on August 18, 2023, that TSA and Border whistleblowers leaked information about a rollout of “full Covid restrictions”, which would include a face mask mandate in September, followed by full Covid lockdowns in December.
Well, it is now October 3, 2023, and there is nary a sight of any face mask mandate for TSA or airport employees in the United States. Infowars has been proven WRONG yet again.
Frankly, that’s hardly surprising. Alex Jones and/or Infowars never actually showed any evidence that the Biden Administration is planning to introduce a face mask mandate for air travel, much less full COVID-19 restrictions which would include lockdowns.
If you watch the video above, you can see that Alex Jones has a ton of paper on his table. Unfortunately, none of them were the leaked memorandum or policy documents from his TSA and Border Patrol whistleblowers.
Rather, they appear to be nothing more than printed copies of news articles! Alex Jones never showed any evidence of the “planned COVID-19 protocols” that were supposed to roll out in the middle of September 2023.
And it’s already October 2023, without a single TSA agent or Border Patrol officer required to wear a face mask in the United States.
I should point out that lockdowns are, frankly, no longer necessary because a combination of vaccines and prior infections have given people significant protection against COVID-19 infections.
Even though cases are spiking due to new variants (which are more adept at evading protection), hospitals and healthcare workers are no longer overloaded with COVID-19 patients. In fact, there has been multiple waves of new COVID-19 variants, but they have not necessitated new lockdowns.
That’s why the WHO itself declared on 5 May 2023 that COVID-19 as a whole is no longer a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Instead, COVID-19 is now considered “an established and ongoing health issue“.
Finally, I should also point out that any order for a face mask mandate on public transportation, including airlines, would be issued by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevent, not the TSA or Border Control.
It was the US CDC that issued the first and only face mask mandate for public transportation in the United States (PDF download) on January 29, 2021. The TSA and Border Control had nothing to do with that, but only issued their own directives to comply with the CDC order.
However, the CDC face mask mandate was made “unenforceable” by court order on April 18, 2022, and expired when the Biden Administration ended the COVID-19 public health emergency on May 11, 2023.
If the CDC ever issues another face mask mandate, it seems inevitable that it would be challenged in court, and made “unenforceable” by another court order. So what really is this panic over a “future” face mask mandate?
I should also point out that, long before the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers all over the world have had no issues wearing face masks to protect themselves and their patients. Seriously, stop being such a wuss.
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!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
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.
Are Japanese airports now empty after Chinese tourists boycotted Japan over the release of the radioactive Fukushima waste water?!
Take a look at the viral video, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Japanese Airports Now Empty After Chinese Boycott!
People are sharing a TikTok video which claims that Japanese airports are now empty after Chinese tourists boycott Japan over the release of the radioactive Fukushima waste water!
Chinese tourists start boycotting Japan and Japanese international airport is so empty. 80% tax free stores are shutting down and hundreds employees are losing jobs. Also planned flights are cancelled because of not enough travellers to make airplane take off.
Japanese airports losing Chinese tourists How desolate is it? It feels like it’s really getting “cold”! Flights are almost always late! There is no huge purchasing power of the Chinese people For Japan’s airports and tourism industry It’s basically equivalent to a devastating blow 80% of shops in the airport have been closed Even go bankrupt Only a few stores are left to hold on. Japan’s largest duty-free shop facing the Chinese has closed down In the past, all the shops in Japanese airports basically spoke Chinese. Moreover, it is overcrowded and even the checkout line has to wait for half an hour. Now I can’t even see a ghost Not a single passenger said anything You can’t even see the staff One of the busiest airports in the world It’s basically cold in Japanese airports now When I took this video This should be the busiest time However, I became the only customer in the whole place My friend used to work at a Japanese airport All are now unemployed Japan is not opening up the country Estimate Japan’s tourism industry And the aviation industry is really going to die.
Japanese Airports Are Not Empty + There’s No Chinese Boycott!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS surrounding the release of treated waste water from the Fukushima NPS, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : No Evidence Japanese Airports Are Empty
First, let me just point out that the viral video does not actually show any evidence that Japanese airports are now empty because Chinese tourists boycotted Japan over the release of the Fukushima treated waste water.
There are many videos showing empty Japanese airports like Narita and Haneda during the COVID-19 pandemic. The viral TikTok video could easily be a mishmash of those videos.
Unfortunately, the TikTok video creator covered up the video with text too much for me to trace the original videos. But it looks like a compilation of different videos.
Fact #2 : Chinese Account For 10% Of Travellers To Japan
Even if there is an unofficial Chinese travel boycott to Japan, it wouldn’t make Japanese airports empty, or force shops to close.
While that makes Chinese tourists the second largest group of foreign tourists to Japan, a complete boycott wouldn’t make Japanese airports look like a ghost town, or force their shops to close down.
Fact #3 : At Least Part Of Video Was Recorded On 12 October
Although the TikTok video creator tried to mask any identifiable features in the video, he/she let something slip.
If you look closely at the date on the flight information display that showed flight cancellations, the date was 12 October.
The year is not listed, but it is only 6 September 2023 today, and the Fukushima-Daiichi NPS only started to release its waste water on 24 August 2023.
Unless the TikTok video creator has a time machine, he/she used at least one video recorded on 12 October from past years. It may not even be as recent as the COVID-19 pandemic years of 2020 and 2021.
For example, many airlines cancelled flights in or out of Japan from 11-13 October 2019, when Super Typhoon Hagibis hit Japan.
Fact #4 : Subtitles Suggest Video Was Before Japan Reopened Borders
On the other hand, the final three Chinese subtitles in the video suggest that the video was recorded before Japan reopened its borders on 11 October 2022.
Japan is not opening up the country Estimate Japan’s tourism industry And the aviation industry is really going to die.
日本在不开国 估计日本的旅游业 和航空业真的要完蛋
Fact #5 : No Evidence Of Chinese Travel Boycott
In any case, there is no evidence of any Chinese travel boycott, whether official or unofficial. Many airlines are still flying people from China to Japan.
I checked to see how many flights there are from Chinese cities to a single airport from 11 September to 17 September 2023.
Instead of seeing a dearth of flights since there is a Chinese boycott, I counted no less than 158 flights from Chinese cities to Narita International Airport over 1 week!
That’s an average of 22.5 flights per day from China to Narita International Airport. And that’s just one airport in Japan. What boycott???
Fact #6 : Many Narita Airport Shops Do Not Open 24/7
The viral TikTok video appears to show that the Dior and LEGO stores are shuttered and closed at the Narita International Airport. But did they really close down as the video claims?
The truth is – not all shops inside the Narita or Haneda airports open 24/7. Dior at Narita Airport, for example, opens from 7:30 AM until 9 PM daily. The LEGO Store at Narita Airport only opens from from 9 AM until 7 PM.
If you land late at night, you will be able to record a similar video showing both shops closed. Does that mean that they shut down because of a Chinese boycott? Obviously, not.
Fact #7 : This Is Just Fake News About Fukushima
There is no doubt that Japan is facing a LOT of criticism over its release of the Fukushima waste water, even though IAEA and many experts have endorsed the plan.
However, this is just another example of FAKE NEWS being created around the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster. Here are other examples I fact checked earlier:
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
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.
Is the Biden Administration preparing to reinstate FULL COVID-19 lockdowns, beginning with face mask mandates in mid-September 2023?! Find out what the facts really are!
Updated @ 2023-08-30 : Added video fact check, and other updates Originally posted @ 2023-08-25
Claim : Biden Admin Is Reinstating Full COVID Lockdowns!
People are sharing an article by The Gateway Pundit, which claims that the Biden Administration is preparing to reinstate FULL COVID-19 lockdowns, beginning with face mask mandates in mid-September 2023!
The article is pretty long, so feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!
Biden Regime to Reinstate COVID-19 Restrictions Beginning with Mask Mandate as “COVID Cases Rise”, Say TSA and Border Patrol Whistleblowers
The Biden regime is preparing to reinstate full COVID-19 lockdowns, beginning with masking mandates for TSA and airport employees reportedly as early as mid-September, Infowars first to report.
A high-level TSA official reached out to Infowars, detailing a Tuesday meeting where TSA managers were informed of new memorandums and policies that would reimplement mask-wearing.
These policies will reinstate the mask mandate for TSA and airport employees starting in mid-September.
The official added that by mid-October, mask-wearing will be mandated for pilots, flight staff, passengers, and all airport patrons.
Following this disclosure from the TSA official, Infowars reached out to a trusted Border Patrol source, also in a managerial position.
This source corroborated the directives, confirming that similar measures were being planned for Border Patrol personnel.
“They were told it was not a matter of “if” but “when” official Covid numbers will go back up and they expect by mid-October a return to forced-masking policies that the Biden administration previously only reluctantly ended after massive pressure,” Infowars reported.
The news outlet added, “Both whistleblowers were told this rollout will be in tandem with the new Covid “variant” hysteria that the MSM has been reporting on this week.”
The media is now pushing for another lockdown. Another fear porn from the so-called health experts and media just in time for the next election. The same old playbook.
No Evidence Biden Administration Is Reinstating COVID Lockdowns!
The Gateway Pundit was basically just summarising what Infowars claimed, and here is what you need to know:
Fact #1 : Infowars Is Notorious Fake News Website
First, let me just point out that Infowars is notorious for posting conspiracy theories and fake news.
2020 study by four universities – Northeastern, Harvard, Northwestern, and Rutgers, found that Infowars was amongst the top 5 most shared websites for COVID-19 fake news.
Infowars is listed as #4 on the Top 10 Worst Anti-Science Websites list.
Infowars video editor Josh Owens admitted to intentionally creating misleading videos – “It’s not about truth, it’s not about accuracy — it’s about what’s going to make people click on this video…In essence, we lied.“
Both Alex Jones and Infowars have been subjected to multiple lawsuits, losing them one after another. In December 2022, he and the Infowars parent company was ordered to pay about $1.5 billion for spreading lies about the 2002 Sandy Hook mass shooting.
Based on its reputation, everything posted by InfoWars should be considered as FAKE NEWS until proven otherwise.
Its articles have been regularly debunked as fake news, so you should NEVER share anything from InfoWars. Here are some of its fake stories that I fact checked earlier:
Fact #2 : Alex Jones + Infowars Provided No Evidence
If you watch the Infowars video where Alex Jones detailed the “exclusive news” that the Biden Administration is planning to bring back FULL COVID-19 restrictions, you may be forgiven for thinking that all those papers on his table are leaked memorandum and policy documents that TSA and Border Patrol whistleblowers provided.
Unfortunately, that does not appear to be the case. While there is A TON of papers on his massive table, they appear to be nothing more than printed copies of news articles. Alex Jones never showed any evidence of the “planned COVID-19 protocols” that will roll out in the middle of September 2023.
It’s easy to make outlandish claims, it’s quite another thing to back them with actual evidence. Needless to say, Infowars offered ZERO evidence to back up its claims.
Fact #3 : Lockdowns Were Necessary Because There Was No Vaccine
In his video, Alex Jones said that his whistleblowers were told to expect “a return to the full COVID protocol of 2020/2021” by December 2023.
The problem with that claim is that many governments implemented lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, because there was no treatment and vaccines were not yet invented or available in sufficient quantities.
Lockdowns were used as a way to limit transmission, and prevent hospitals and healthcare workers from being overloaded with COVID-19 patients.
Now that many people have some protection from a prior infection, or from COVID-19 vaccines, there has been no new need for governments to implement new lockdowns. In fact, there has been multiple waves of new COVID-19 variants, but they have not necessitated new lockdowns.
So the claim that the Biden Administration is going to implement COVID-19 lockdowns in December 2023 over the new Eris EG.5 variant is not supported by the prevailing evidence.
Fact #4 : WHO Declared COVID-19 Is No Longer PHEIC
It is interesting that the whistleblowers mentioned that the World Health Organization (WHO) may declare (an emergency?) over the new EG.5 Eris variant.
For one thing, the WHO itself declared on 5 May 2023 that COVID-19 as a whole is no longer a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Instead, COVID-19 is now considered “an established and ongoing health issue“.
Fact #5 : Eris Variant Is Not More Dangerous
The WHO has been monitoring the new EG.5 “Eris” variant, designating it as a “variant of interest”. However, that does not mean Eris is a more dangerous variant.
According to the WHO, the EG. 5 variant has increased prevalence, growth advantage, and immune escape properties, but…
presents a low public health risk at a global level, and
has no reported changes in disease severity to date
While it is possible that EG.5 / Eris will become the dominant COVID-19 variant moving into the winter months of 2023, it has the same symptoms and severity as past variants.
Fact #6 : New Vaccines Are Coming In September 2023
Even if the Eris / EG.5 becomes dominant, it is unlikely for the United States to require lockdowns in December 2023, because new COVID-19 vaccines coming in September will offer better protection against it.
From late September 2023 onwards, Pfizer, Moderna, and Novavax are introducing new COVID-19 vaccines that will target XBB variants. As EG.5 is part of the XBB lineage, the new vaccines are expected to offer better protection against this new variant.
EG.5 is part of the XBB lineage and is more closely related to the XBB variants than it is to previous vaccine strains.
For this reason, the expectation is that the reformulated vaccines that will be available this fall will offer better protection to EG.5 than previous vaccines.
– Justin Lessler, professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health
In short, there really isn’t a need for new lockdowns, because the improved COVID-19 vaccines are already coming in the fall of 2023.
Fact #7 : Biden Administration Does Not Want New Lockdowns
I should now point out that it is against the Biden Administration’s interest to implement new lockdowns, which would cripple the economy. In fact, the Biden Administration mentioned this when it released its National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan (PDF download) in March 2022.
The path forward in the fight against COVID-19 is clear: schools, workers, and workplaces have resources and guidance to prevent shutdowns.
Finally, I should also point out that any order for a face mask mandate on public transportation, including airlines, would be issued by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevent, not the TSA or Border Control.
It was the US CDC that issued the first and only face mask mandate for public transportation in the United States (PDF download) on January 29, 2021. The TSA and Border Control had nothing to do with that, but only issued their own directives to comply with the CDC order.
However, the CDC face mask mandate was made “unenforceable” by court order on April 18, 2022, and expired when the Biden Administration ended the COVID-19 public health emergency on May 11, 2023.
If the CDC ever issues another face mask mandate, it seems inevitable that it would be challenged in court, and made “unenforceable” by another court order. So what really is this panic over a “future” face mask mandate?
I should also point out that, long before the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers all over the world have had no issues wearing face masks to protect themselves and their patients. Seriously, stop being such a wuss.
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!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
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.
Is the Biden Administration preparing to bring back FULL COVID-19 restrictions beginning in mid-September 2023?! Find out what the facts really are!
Updated @ 2023-08-24 : Added a fact check video, updated parts of the article Originally posted @ 2023-08-19
Claim : Biden Admin Bringing Back Full COVID Restrictions!
People are sharing an InfoWars article which claims that the Biden Administration is preparing to bring back FULL COVID-19 restrictions, beginning in mid-September 2023!
The article is pretty long, so feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!
EXCLUSIVE: Biden Admin Preparing to Bring Back FULL Covid Restrictions, Rollout to Begin Mid-September
Whistleblowers from the TSA and Border Patrol have raised the alarm to Infowars that the Biden administration is setting the stage for full Covid lockdowns that will begin with incremental restrictions like masking TSA employees in mid-September.
The first source, a high-level TSA official confirmed and known to Infowars, reached out to Infowars and cited a Tuesday meeting in which TSA managers were told new memorandums & policies were being completed that would reimplement masking, starting with TSA & airport employees as early as mid-September.
The TSA official also said next week they will receive new guidelines on how the policy will escalate: by mid-October, mask-wearing will be required by pilots, flight staff, passengers, and airport patrons.
After hearing from the TSA manager, Infowars reached out to our trusted Border Patrol source who is also a manager. This source confirmed the same directives were being given to Border Patrol.
They were told it was not a matter of “if” but “when” official Covid numbers will go back up and they expect by mid-October a return to forced-masking policies that the Biden administration previously only reluctantly ended after massive pressure.
Both whistleblowers were told this rollout will be in tandem with the new Covid “variant” hysteria that the MSM has been reporting on this week.
Infowars’ analysis is clear: this new rollout’s timing is perfect for the embattled Biden administration to put the country back in a state of civil emergency and even martial law to further divide and confuse the public and move forward with the greatest election meddling in history.
Many times, Alex Jones has warned that the system will bring back biomedical tyranny. And the launch of this new crisis in September will allow a build-up of control that would allow the use of mail-in ballots for the next presidential election.
Remember, mail-in ballots were decisive for Biden’s victory last election.
We now know the Covid lockdowns were an international psychological warfare operation run by the Ministry of Defense and Pentagon.
Countries worldwide implemented fear campaigns for political purposes and to push experimental shots.
But this time around, the masses have awakened to the globalist playbook of conquest, and may not be as receptive to MSM hysteria.
Simply put, the Deep State is getting desperate and is behaving like a cornered animal.
No Evidence Biden Administration Is Bringing Back COVID Restrictions!
Let’s take a look at what Infowars just claimed, and find out what the facts really are!
Fact #1 : InfoWars Is Notorious Fake News Website
First, let me just point out that InfoWars is notorious for posting conspiracy theories and fake news.
2020 study by four universities – Northeastern, Harvard, Northwestern, and Rutgers, found that InfoWars was amongst the top 5 most shared websites for COVID-19 fake news.
InfoWars is listed as #4 on the Top 10 Worst Anti-Science Websites list.
InfoWars video editor Josh Owens admitted to intentionally creating misleading videos – “It’s not about truth, it’s not about accuracy — it’s about what’s going to make people click on this video…In essence, we lied.“
Both Alex Jones and InfoWars have been subjected to multiple lawsuits, losing them one after another. In December 2022, he and the InfoWars parent company was ordered to pay about $1.5 billion for spreading lies about the 2002 Sandy Hook mass shooting.
Based on its reputation, everything posted by InfoWars should be considered as FAKE NEWS until proven otherwise.
Its articles have been regularly debunked as fake news, so you should NEVER share anything from InfoWars. Here are some of its fake stories that I fact checked earlier:
Fact #2 : Alex Jones + InfoWars Provided No Evidence
If you watch the InfoWars video where Alex Jones detailed the “exclusive news” that the Biden Administration is planning to bring back FULL COVID-19 restrictions, you may be forgiven for thinking that all those papers on his table were leaked memorandum and policy documents that TSA and Border Patrol whistleblowers provided.
Unfortunately, that does not appear to be the case. While there is A TON of papers on his massive table, they appear to be nothing more than printed copies of news articles. Alex Jones never showed any evidence of the “planned COVID-19 protocols” that will roll out in the middle of September 2023.
It’s easy to make outlandish claims, it’s quite another thing to back them with actual evidence. Needless to say, InfoWars offered ZERO evidence to back up its claims.
Fact #3 : Lockdowns Were Necessary Because There Was No Vaccine
In his video, Alex Jones said that his whistleblowers were told to expect “a return to the full COVID protocol of 2020/2021” by December 2023.
The problem with that claim is that many governments implemented lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, because there was no treatment and vaccines were not yet invented or available in sufficient quantities.
Lockdowns were used as a way to limit transmission, and prevent hospitals and healthcare workers from being overloaded with COVID-19 patients.
Now that many people have some protection from a prior infection, or from COVID-19 vaccines, there has been no new need for governments to implement new lockdowns. In fact, there has been multiple waves of new COVID-19 variants, but they have not necessitated new lockdowns.
So the claim that the Biden Administration is going to implement COVID-19 lockdowns in December 2023 over the new Eris EG.5 variant is not supported by the prevailing evidence.
Fact #4 : WHO Declared COVID-19 Is No Longer PHEIC
It is interesting that the whistleblowers mentioned that the World Health Organization (WHO) may declare (an emergency?) over the new EG.5 Eris variant.
For one thing, the WHO itself declared on 5 May 2023 that COVID-19 as a whole is no longer a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Instead, COVID-19 is now considered “an established and ongoing health issue“.
Fact #5 : Eris Variant Is Not More Dangerous
The WHO has been monitoring the new EG.5 “Eris” variant, designating it as a “variant of interest”. However, that does not mean Eris is a more dangerous variant.
According to the WHO, the EG. 5 variant has increased prevalence, growth advantage, and immune escape properties, but…
presents a low public health risk at a global level, and
has no reported changes in disease severity to date
While it is possible that EG.5 / Eris will become the dominant COVID-19 variant moving into the winter months of 2023, it has the same symptoms and severity as past variants.
Fact #6 : New Vaccines Are Coming In September 2023
Even if the Eris / EG.5 becomes dominant, it is unlikely for the United States to require lockdowns in December 2023, because new COVID-19 vaccines coming in September will offer better protection against it.
From late September 2023 onwards, Pfizer, Moderna, and Novavax are introducing new COVID-19 vaccines that will target XBB variants. As EG.5 is part of the XBB lineage, the new vaccines are expected to offer better protection against this new variant.
EG.5 is part of the XBB lineage and is more closely related to the XBB variants than it is to previous vaccine strains.
For this reason, the expectation is that the reformulated vaccines that will be available this fall will offer better protection to EG.5 than previous vaccines.
– Justin Lessler, professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health
In short, there really isn’t a need for new lockdowns, because the improved COVID-19 vaccines are already coming in the fall of 2023.
Fact #7 : Biden Administration Does Not Want New Lockdowns
I should now point out that it is against the Biden Administration’s interest to implement new lockdowns, which would cripple the economy. In fact, the Biden Administration mentioned this when it released its National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan (PDF download) in March 2022.
The path forward in the fight against COVID-19 is clear: schools, workers, and workplaces have resources and guidance to prevent shutdowns.
Finally, I should also point out that any order for a face mask mandate on public transportation, including airlines, would be issued by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevent, not the TSA or Border Control.
It was the US CDC that issued the first and only face mask mandate for public transportation in the United States (PDF download) on January 29, 2021. The TSA and Border Control had nothing to do with that, but only issued their own directives to comply with the CDC order.
However, the CDC face mask mandate was made “unenforceable” by court order on April 18, 2022, and expired when the Biden Administration ended the COVID-19 public health emergency on May 11, 2023.
If the CDC ever issues another face mask mandate, it seems inevitable that it would be challenged in court, and made “unenforceable” by another court order. So what really is this panic over a “future” face mask mandate?
I should also point out that, long before the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers all over the world have had no issues wearing face masks to protect themselves and their patients. Seriously, stop being such a wuss.
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!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
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.
Did the pilot of Qatar Airways flight QR579 die suddenly from the COVID-19 vaccine during the flight?!
Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Qatar Airways Pilot Died From Vaccine Mid-Flight!
Some people are suggesting or claiming that the pilot of Qatar Airways flight QR579 died suddenly mid-flight due to a COVID-19 vaccine injury or SADS!
William Makis MD : BREAKING NEWS: Another PILOT has died inflight!!
Aug.16, 2023 – Quatar Airways QR579 (DEL-DOH) Delhi to Doha, Quatar diverted to Dubai as 51 year old senior pilot collapsed inflight and died!
2nd pilot death & 4th collapse THIS WEEK! #DiedSuddenly #cdnpoli #ableg
Stew Peters : ANOTHER pilot #DiedSuddenly, MID FLIGHT. Qatar Airlines vaxxed all their pilots, evidently.
#PureBloods will rule the world one day soon.
Jack Straw : BREAKING NEWS: Another PILOT has died inflight!!
Aug.16, 2023 – Quatar Airways QR579 (DEL-DOH) Delhi to Doha, Quatar diverted to Dubai as 51 year old senior pilot collapsed inflight and died! 2nd pilot death & 4th collapse THIS WEEK!
No Evidence Qatar Airways Pilot Died From Vaccine Mid-Flight!
It’s now tradition for anti-vaccination activists to blame all sudden deaths or illnesses on the COVID-19 vaccine.
Here are the reasons why this is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created and propagated by anti-vaccination activists…
Fact #1 : Qatar Airways Pilot Was Passenger Aboard QR579
First, let me just point out that the pilot who died aboard Qatar Airways flight QR579 was not the senior pilot for that flight. He was aboard the flight as a passenger.
To be clear – Qatar Airways flight QR579 was never in any danger during the tragic incident. It was not one of its two pilots who had a medical emergency and died.
Fact #2 : He Died Onboard Qatar Airways QR579
On August 16, 2023, Qatar Airways flight QR579 took off from Delhi, heading towards Doha. 30 minutes into its flight, the Airbus A350-900 aircraft suddenly turned left and headed for Dubai International Airport (DXB), where it landed 30 minutes later.
Later, it was reported that the aircraft with the registration of A7-ALM diverted to Dubai due to a medical emergency – a senior pilot who was travelling as a passenger, suddenly fell critically ill onboard.
Despite a swift response and medical assistance onboard flight QR579, he could not be saved. He was declared dead on arrive at Dubai International Airport.
Fact #3 : The Pilot Allegedly Died From Cardiac Arrest
The Qatar Airways pilot was a 51 year-old man of Indian origin, who had flown SpiceJet’s inaugural flight in 2005:
The pilot had worked with Alliance Air and spent 17 years in SpiceJet. He had operated SpiceJet’s first flight, Delhi-Ahmedabad, on May 23, 2005. Last year he had joined Qatar Airways where he was flying the Boeing 777.
A colleague who worked with the pilot for several years expressed shock, stating that “He was very fit and his untimely demise has come as a big shock for everyone who knew him“. That quote is being used to claim or suggest that the pilot “must have” died from a COVID-19 vaccine injury of some sort.
There is no evidence that his death has anything to do with COVID-19 vaccines. And certainly, people pushing those claims offered ZERO evidence to back up their “expert opinions”.
Officially, Qatar Airways has not commented on the death of the pilot. But India’s Zee News reported that the pilot was ascertained to have died from cardiac arrest.
While it is likely that the pilot died from sudden cardiac arrest, I would caution that the pilot’s official cause of death remains unknown.
Until and unless his family and/or Qatar Airways or the Dubai authorities reveal his official cause of death, any claim that he died from this or that cause should be taken with a pinch of salt.
While anti-vaccination activists claim that there is a sudden surge of “untimely deaths” from cardiac arrest, it has long been a major cause of death… long before the COVID-19 vaccines were invented.
The United States alone records over half a million cases of sudden cardiac arrest cases every year – an incidence of about 130 per 100,000 individuals per year. Many people have undiagnosed heart conditions that may not produce noticeable symptoms in daily life, but could result in sudden cardiac arrest at any time.
A 2012 study discovered that people in Southern India who died from sudden cardiac arrest were 5-8 years younger compared to people in the western hemisphere.
10% of all deaths in Southern India were caused by sudden cardiac death
almost half were 60 years-old or younger
many were diagnosed with heart disease
over 80% had at least one risk factor for coronary artery disease – hypertension, diabetes, or smoking
they were generally 5-8 years younger than similar cases in the western hemisphere
Fact #5 : Unknown If Qatar Airways Pilot Was Vaccinated
Despite suggestions that the Qatar Airways pilot was fully-vaccinated, there isn’t any actual evidence that he ever received the COVID-19 vaccine. We don’t even know his name, much less his COVID-19 vaccination status!
Qatar Airways also never mandated the COVID-19 vaccine for its pilots or its aircrew. Instead, pilots and aircrew were offered two options – get vaccinated, or undergo a COVID-19 test every few days.
[H]ow did Qatar Airways achieve 100 per cent crew vaccination without threatening dismissal against vaccine-hesitant workers?
Unlike the United States, cabin crew in Qatar weren’t immediately prioritised for the vaccine and supply issues meant that Qatar hasn’t had a surplus of vaccines that are going to waste either.
But when crew did become eligible, they had a simple choice – get vaccinated or have an invasive COVID-19 test every few days to prove your negative status.
That said – the pilot is likely fully-vaccinated. He only joined Qatar Airways in 2022. Previously, he was with SpiceJet. While it is unknown whether SpiceJet has a vaccine mandate for its aircrew, SpiceJet is promoting the fact that its crew members and ground personnel are fully-vaccinated and masked.
Even so, I should point out that COVID-19 vaccine is not mandatory in India, and the pilot may possibly have left SpiceJet over the vaccination mandate (if there’s one). So it is still possible that the pilot was not vaccinated against COVID-19. We simply do not know his vaccination status for sure. Heck, we don’t even know his name!
Until and unless the pilot’s family (or Qatar Airways) reveals his COVID-19 vaccination status, anyone who tells you that the unnamed pilot was vaccinated or otherwise, is likely lying to you. None of us have any evidence of that.
Fact #6 : Vaccine Side Effects Appear Within Hours / Days
Even if the Qatar Airways pilot was fully-vaccinated against COVID-19, he would have received his doses more than a year ago! It is quite impossible for him to suffer from vaccine side effects, because they appear within hours or days, not months later.
Mild side effects like injection site pain, fever, muscle ache, headache, lethargy develop within minutes to hours of the vaccination.
Anaphylaxis develops within minutes, while other severe adverse reactions like myocarditis and VITT develop within days or weeks.
The spike proteins produced by the COVID-19 vaccines also do not stick around for months. If these spike proteins are permanent (as antivaxxers claim), we would have lifelong immunity.
Your own immune system will identify the spike proteins as foreign, and destroy them within a matter of days, although some may last for up to a few weeks. This is part of how vaccines teach your immune system to identify the enemy and destroy it.
Fact #7 : Claims Of COVID-19 Vaccine Injuries Often Proven False
Most claims of sudden deaths / injuries due to the COVID-19 vaccine have been proven false. Here is the latest dozen of other false sudden death claims!
Will these anti-vaccination activists apologise for lying to you? Nope! They will just move on to the next death or 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!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
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.
Are travellers queuing up for hours at KLIA after immigration officers started a Work to Rule protest?!
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Long Queues At KLIA Due To Immigration Work To Rule Protest!
People are sharing a video, claiming that it shows long queues at KLIA after immigration officers started a Work to Rule protest, over recent accusations of corruption!
Work to rule being enforced by immigration officers in KLIA as protest over the recent issue. Terrible if true! 🫢🧐🤨🤨🤨
Here’s a You Tuber telling us his story at the KLIA today. 😰😥😱
In the 1 minute and 22 seconds long video, a foreign tourist is seen complaining that he had to spend 2 hours getting through immigration at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).
After waiting in line for an hour, he was sent to an immigration office where he had to wait for another hour before he was questioned. Only after an extensive questioning was the tourist released with a 90-day pass.
No Evidence Long Queues At KLIA Are Due To Immigration Protest!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS circulating on WhatsApp, and social media platforms, and here are the reasons why!
Fact #1 : Fake News Is Based On Immigration Corruption Claims
First, I should point out that this fake news is based on the recent accusations of corruption involving immigration officers at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). Here is a quick recap.
On Thursday, 29 June 2023, two ladies arrived at KLIA from Shenzhen, China – a senior official of a Chinese government-owned TV station, and her personal assistant.
The senior official was duly cleared and allowed entry by the Immigration Department, but her personal assistant was denied entry, and allegedly told that there were discrepancies in her travel documents. The lady was allegedly told that she would need to pay several thousand ringgit to be allowed to enter Malaysia.
The Chinese TV official called up the consulate general of Malaysia in Guangzhou to seek help. The consulate general’s staff then contacted Malaysia Tourism Minister Tiong King Sing, who went to KLIA to investigate the matter. The personal assistant was later allowed to enter Malaysia, after the Minister intervened.
A day later, Tiong claimed that there was a “culture of corruption” within the Immigration Department’s handling of foreign visitors at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
I feel it is high time that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) enter KLIA in full force to probe what is actually happening in this major entry point.
I’m grateful that my presence there managed to uncover an embarrassing situation for the country, in which there is a culture of corruption among a number of officers as well as chronic abuse of power at the country’s major gateway.
Tiong also said that he learnt that some immigration officers would demand up to RM3,000 to free tourists from detention, and he would be sending the information to the MACC.
They would demand RM3,000 to enable the tourists to go through a ‘special lane’ and RM12,000 for visa processing costs.
I should also point out that the term, work to rule, refers to a situation where employees strictly follow their working hours, and do no more than the minimum required by their contract or job.
By that definition, it is unknown if any Immigration officer in KLIA is currently “protesting” through work to rule measures. They could simply be seen as doing their jobs, but nothing beyond that.
Fact #3 : Video Was Taken In May 2022
While it is impossible to know whether immigration officers are protesting through work to rule action, I can tell you that the viral video has absolutely nothing to do with the current controversy involving Malaysian Immigration officers at KLIA.
That’s because the video was originally taken in May 2022. The YouTuber in the video is called Ken Abroad, and he posted the video on 22 May 2023, with the title, “I Almost Got Denied Entry To Malaysia 🇲🇾“.
In the video, he detailed his journey from his home in Germany to Malaysia, via Turkey. When he landed in KLIA over a year ago, he spent more than 2 hours getting through immigration.
But notably – Ken Abroad was released without paying a single cent to immigration officers. Neither did he accuse them of corruption.
Fact #4 : Video Was Edited
The viral video originally had a long runtime of 15 minutes and 51 seconds, but was cropped to just 1 minute and 22 seconds.
Whoever cut this video to share on WhatsApp and social media platforms would obviously be aware that this was originally posted more than a year ago on YouTube.
Fact #5 : Complaints About KLIA Queues Are Perennial
Complaints about long queues at KLIA immigration are perennial. If you check social media, you can see people complaining about this months and years ago, even before the COVID-19 pandemic!
Such queues are also not limited to KLIA immigration counters. They have been documented in airports all over the world, especially in very busy airports (like Heathrow and LAX), and during busy times (when multiple flights land at around the same time).
Just because there is a queue at the immigration counters does not mean there is any industrial work to rule action going on. Often, it just means that there is a large number of people queuing up to get processed.
Please help us FIGHT FAKE NEWS by sharing this fact check article out, and please SUPPORT our work!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
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.
Timothy Shim gives us the low-down on the 5 strategies for negotiating airfare discounts with SAP Concur!
Negotiating Airfare Discounts with SAP Concur!
Whether it’s a short hop to a neighboring city for a client meeting or an international conference halfway around the globe, airfare costs can significantly dent your company’s budget. That’s where systems like SAP Concur step in.
From leveraging data to setting up effective travel policies, we will explore five strategies for negotiating airfare discounts with SAP Concur. But before we dive into the nitty-gritty, let’s understand what SAP Concur is and how it functions as a critical part of your corporate travel management toolkit.
5 Minute Read
Use SAP Concur’s robust reporting tools to gain insights into your company’s travel patterns and use this information to identify potential areas for negotiation with airlines.
Centralize your company’s travel bookings with SAP Concur and present your travel volume data to airlines when negotiating for discounts.
Use SAP Concur to plan and book corporate travel in advance, demonstrating your commitment to airlines and leveraging this in your negotiations for better rates.
Track airfare fluctuations with SAP Concur and use your active engagement with market trends to secure better deals from airlines.
Leverage SAP Concur to manage and track your company’s relationships with airlines, leveraging your loyalty and long-term commitment to negotiate for ongoing discounts.
5 Strategies for Negotiating Airfare Discounts with SAP Concur!
SAP Concur is a cloud-based solution integrating travel, expense, and invoice management into one unified system. It aims to simplify these processes and provide a seamless, user-friendly experience.
Travel Management with SAP Concur
Concur Travel is a feature within the platform that allows businesses to manage and streamline their corporate travel processes. It offers a comprehensive range of services, including online booking tools, travel management services, and mobile applications.
These services aid companies in reducing costs, enforcing travel policies, and providing travelers with a smooth and efficient experience.
Expense and Invoice Management
Concur Expense and Concur Invoice are additional features to simplify the expense and invoice management processes. Concur Expense lets employees quickly capture and submit expense reports from any location.
That does much to reduce errors and improve compliance. Concur Invoice automates invoice processing, helping businesses manage spending and cash flow more effectively.
SAP Concur’s Impact on Business Operations
By integrating travel, expense, and invoice management, SAP Concur gives businesses visibility and control over their spending. It also offers valuable insights into spending patterns, helping companies make informed decisions and save money.
Whether a business has a small travel team or a large multinational operation, SAP Concur is designed to adapt to unique needs and deliver tangible benefits.
The first step to effective negotiation is knowing your ground, and in the context of airfare discounts, that means understanding your travel data. SAP Concur shines here, providing businesses comprehensive insights into their travel habits.
Key Data Points to Focus On
First, pay close attention to your company’s frequently traveled routes, preferred airlines, and ticket classes. Focus on asking the right questions to provide the most actionable insights for your business. For example;
Which routes are your employees traveling the most?
Which airlines are they choosing?
Are they booking economy, business, or first-class tickets?
These data points provide a solid foundation for negotiation discussions with airlines.
Analyzing Trends and Patterns
SAP Concur allows you to analyze trends and patterns in your travel data over time. For instance, you may find that your employees travel more frequently during certain times of the year or prefer specific airlines for international flights. These patterns can provide leverage when negotiating airfare discounts.
Translating Data into Negotiation Power
Armed with this data, you can approach airlines with confidence. Showcase your loyalty to specific airlines, emphasize the volume of business you bring, and demonstrate your understanding of your company’s travel needs.
When airlines see that you know your travel patterns and preferences, they’re more likely to consider offering discounts.
Actionable Tips
Use SAP Concur’s reporting tools to gain a comprehensive overview of your company’s travel patterns.
Analyze the data to identify trends, such as the most frequently traveled routes, the most used airlines, and peak travel periods.
Use this information to identify potential areas for negotiation with airlines.
Once you’ve grasped your travel data, it’s time to focus on volume. As with many things in business, higher volumes can often lead to better deals, and air travel is no different.
With SAP Concur, you can aggregate your travel data to demonstrate the volume of your bookings, forming a compelling case for discounts.
Consolidating Travel Bookings
It’s essential to consolidate your company’s travel bookings as much as possible. Instead of allowing your employees to book flights individually, use SAP Concur to centralize your travel bookings.
This simplifies the booking process and allows you to negotiate with airlines as a single, high-volume customer.
Presenting Your Case to Airlines
When you approach airlines with a substantial volume of business, you’re in a much stronger negotiating position. Airlines are always looking for consistent, reliable customers. Showing them that you provide significant business can encourage them to offer you better rates.
The Win-Win Situation
By offering airlines a substantial and steady volume of business, you’re creating a win-win situation. The airline gets a reliable source of revenue, and in return, your company gets more favorable airfare rates. This symbiotic relationship is the heart of effective negotiation.
Leveraging SAP Concur’s Tools
SAP Concur provides the tools necessary to leverage your travel volume effectively. This platform is an essential partner in your negotiation journey, from consolidating bookings to presenting comprehensive reports.
Using SAP Concur to showcase your travel volume, you can confidently negotiate airfare discounts and ensure your company gets the best possible deals.
Actionable Tips
Use SAP Concur to centralize all your company’s travel bookings.
Make a report showcasing your company’s travel volume.
Present this report to airlines when negotiating discounts.
Strategy #3: Utilize Advanced Booking
We’ve all heard the saying, “The early bird gets the worm,” right? In our case, replace “worm” with “discount.” Being an early bird can be a real game-changer when bagging those sweet airfare deals. And here’s where SAP Concur comes in handy, making advanced booking a breeze.
Think about it – when airlines see steady, early bookings, they’re more willing to give us a break with some discounts. Plus, it’s a stress reliever! You get to avoid the last-minute scramble for tickets, and it’s easier to plan your budget when you know the costs upfront.
SAP Concur is like that incredibly organized friend we all wish we had. With its advanced booking feature, planning your corporate travel well in advance is simple. You can book flights, reserve hotels, and even arrange ground transport, all in one place.
The Art of Negotiation with Advanced Booking
But let’s get back to the discounts. Advanced booking can give you a leg up when negotiating with airlines. Showing them that your company is organized and committed to booking in advance can be a persuasive argument for a lower rate.
Creating a Win-Win Situation (Again!)
Just like with travel volume, advanced booking creates a win-win situation. The airlines have the security of early and regular bookings, and you get to bag those tempting discounts. It’s like a beautiful dance, and SAP Concur is your dance partner, guiding you through each step.
So, remember to plan. It’s not just about saving your sanity; it’s about saving dollars. Advanced booking with SAP Concur? That’s a smart move.
Actionable Tips
● Use SAP Concur’s booking tools to plan and book corporate travel well in advance.
● Track the cost savings achieved through advanced booking.
● Highlight your company’s commitment to early booking when negotiating with airlines.
Next up on our list of strategies is dynamic pricing. That might sound like some sort of jargon straight out of a business textbook, but trust me, it’s more complex than it sounds. It’s all about adaptability, flexibility, and being ready to ride the ever-changing airfare prices.
Airfare prices are like a rollercoaster—they go up, down, and make sudden turns. As a savvy business, we must monitor these fluctuations and use them to our advantage. When we know that prices are changing, we can swoop in and grab those discounts when they pop up.
This is where SAP Concur struts its stuff. It allows us to track these price changes and alerts us when prices drop. It’s like having a vigilant guard dog that barks (or, in this case, sends notifications) when a good deal is on the horizon.
Dynamic Pricing and Negotiation
When you’re at the negotiating table with airlines, being able to talk about dynamic pricing can give you an edge. It shows airlines that you’re not only aware of the market trends but you’re also ready to react to them. This can make them more willing to offer special deals and discounts.
Creating Yet Another Win-Win
By now, you’ve probably noticed a pattern—we’re all about creating win-win situations. With dynamic pricing, the airlines get a customer who’s engaged and responsive to the market, and you get to save some of those hard-earned dollars.
So, let’s embrace the rollercoaster of dynamic pricing. We can ride the ups and downs with great discounts with SAP Concur. Remember, being adaptable in business is a virtue; in this case, it can save you money!
Actionable Tips
Use SAP Concur’s tracking features to keep an eye on airfare fluctuations.
Book immediately to secure the lower rate when you notice a significant price drop.
Mention your dynamic pricing strategy during negotiations with airlines to show that you’re an active and engaged customer.
Last but not least is the power of long-term partnerships. We’re not just talking about fleeting, one-off deals here. No, we’re looking at the big picture—establishing relationships with airlines that can lead to ongoing discounts.
Loyalty goes a long way in business, and air travel is no different. Airlines appreciate customers who stick around. Knowing they can count on your company’s regular patronage gives them stability.
This is where SAP Concur’s ability to track and manage your travel data shines. It helps you keep track of your company’s relationship with each airline and makes it easier to demonstrate your loyalty when negotiating for better rates.
Using Partnerships to Negotiate Discounts
When you’ve established a long-term relationship with an airline, you’re no longer just another customer—you’re a valued partner. This gives you a significant advantage when negotiating airfare discounts.
Airlines are more likely to give better rates to customers who will continue to bring them business.
The Long Game Wins
Establishing long-term partnerships is like playing the long game. Yes, it requires commitment and consistency, but the payoff can be substantial. Airlines get the assurance of your loyalty, and you get the benefit of ongoing discounts. It’s a classic win-win.
Actionable Tips
● Use SAP Concur to track your company’s relationship with each airline.
● Share this data with airlines to demonstrate your loyalty and commitment.
● Leverage your long-term relationship with airlines to negotiate for ongoing discounts.
Final Thoughts: Turning Strategies into Savings with SAP Concur
We’ve certainly covered some ground! From understanding your travel data, leveraging your travel volume, utilizing advanced booking, and implementing dynamic pricing, to establishing long-term partnerships, it’s clear that there are multiple strategies for negotiating airfare discounts.
And guess what? SAP Concur has been our faithful companion, offering us the tools and features to implement these strategies effectively. It’s more than a travel, expense, and invoice management platform.
It’s a powerful ally that helps us navigate the tricky terrain of corporate travel and airfare negotiation.
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
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.
Was this viral photo of an amazing full circle rainbow captured by a pilot flying at 30,000 feet?!
Take a look at the photo, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : This Rare Rainbow Was Captured By Pilot At 30,000 Feet!
People are sharing what they claim is a rare rainbow captured by Lloyd J Ferraro, a pilot flying over the Pacific Ocean at at an altitude of 30,000 feet.
Rainbow at 30,000 Feet: Pilot’s Photo Captures Rare and Breathtaking Sight
A rare sight was captured from the cockpit of a commercial airplane as pilot Lloyd J Ferraro took a stunning photograph of a complete rainbow from an altitude of 30,000 feet. The breathtaking image shows the colors of the rainbow in their full spectrum, arching gracefully across the sky.
Rainbows have long been a source of fascination for people around the world, with their vivid colors and seemingly magical appearance. While rainbows can be seen from the ground after a storm, it is much rarer to witness a complete rainbow from the vantage point of an airplane.
According to Ferraro, he was flying over the Pacific Ocean when he spotted the rainbow and decided to capture the moment on camera. The resulting photograph has since gone viral, captivating people around the world with its beauty and rarity.
The image not only showcases the beauty of nature but also highlights the incredible capabilities of modern technology. Ferraro was able to capture the stunning photograph using a smartphone camera, demonstrating how accessible and advanced our technology has become.
This incredible photo serves as a reminder of the beauty and wonder that surrounds us in our everyday lives. It is a testament to the power of nature and the marvels of modern technology, and it has inspired people around the world to appreciate the small moments of beauty that exist in the world around us.
Truth : Rare Rainbow Was Not Captured By Pilot At 30,000 Feet!
This is yet another example of FAKE PHOTOS circulating on WhatsApp and social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : Photo Was Not Taken By Lloyd J Ferraro
Lead Stories spoke to the pilot, Lloyd J Ferraro, on March 1, 2023. He has seen circular rainbows while flying, but he did not take that viral photo.
Ferraro shared that both he and his colleague copied and shared the rainbow image on social media, but he did not take the photo himself.
Fact #2 : Circular Rainbows Are Not Particularly Rare
Lloyd J Ferraro said that full-circle rainbows are not as rare as people think, and people do not need to be in an airplane to see one – a full circle rainbow can be observed from any high vantage point, like a mountain top.
In fact, NASA featured this full circle rainbow photo as its Astronomy Picture of the Day on December 27, 2022. That amazing photo of a full circle rainbow was taken using a drone by Swiss photographer Lukas Moesch over the Lofoten islands of Norway.
NASA also explained why full circle rainbows are more commonly seen from the air, instead of the ground.
Have you ever seen an entire rainbow? From the ground, typically, only the top portion of a rainbow is visible because directions toward the ground have fewer raindrops. From the air, though, the entire 360-degree circle of a rainbow is more commonly visible.
Pictured here, a full-circle rainbow was captured over the Lofoten Islands of Norway in September by a drone passing through a rain shower.
An observer-dependent phenomenon primarily caused by the internal reflection of sunlight by raindrops, the rainbow has a full diameter of 84 degrees. The Sun is in the exact opposite direction from the rainbow’s center. As a bonus, a second rainbow that was more faint and color-reversed was visible outside the first.
Lloyd J Ferraro could not have been the creator of the photo, because the viral photo of the rare circular rainbow circulated much earlier.
It appeared to have been posted in the Facebook group, Beautiful Nature, as part of a 5-photo collection of rainbows on February 6, 2023. After that, it went viral with many people sharing it on Facebook and Twitter.
But a closer examination of these photos will show a digital watermark at their lower right corners. These photos were created by someone with the user ID of 5463530014 on the Chinese social shopping platform Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book).
Fact #4 : Professor Labelled Rainbow Photo As Fake
Lead Stories asked Roland Stull, a professor of Atmospheric Science at the University of British Columbia to analyse the photo. He labelled it as a fake rainbow photo, and explained why:
It is fake. Rainbows form a circle centered around the shadow of the photographer or the camera; namely, looking away from the sun.
In the photo you attached, based on the sides of the clouds that are illuminated by the sun, the rainbow incorrectly appears to be in the direction of the sun, not opposite to the sun. Also, the rainbow circle itself appears to be incorrectly touching the location in the sky where the sun is (even though it is hidden behind a cloud), instead of the circle being centered on a shadow opposite to the sun (i.e., centered around the “anti-solar” point).
Fact #5 : Rainbow Photo Most Likely Generated By AI
It is not possible to know if the fake rainbow photo was digitally drawn by an artist, or created by AI image generators.
However, due to the numerous examples of similar rainbow photos with the same tone and colour palette, they were all likely generated by text-to-image generators like Midjourney, DALL-E or Stable Diffusion.
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!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
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.
Passengers on Malaysia Airlines, Firefly and MASwings won’t need to switch off personal devices during take-off and landing! Here is what you need to know!
Malaysia Airlines Passengers Won’t Need To Turn Off Devices!
On Tuesday, 28 June 2023, the Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) announced that its airlines – Malaysia Airlines, Firefly, and MASwings – are the first airlines to enable Gate-to-Gate connectivity for passengers by the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM).
From 1 July 2023 onwards, passengers on three airlines can keep their personal devices switched on at all times. There is no longer the need to switch off your phone, tablet, laptop, or other devices, or stow them during take-off or landing.
As long as those devices must have their wireless connectivity turned off using the “Airplane Mode” or “Flight Mode“, you can continue to use them during take-off, or landing. This allows you to continue working on your laptop, or watch downloaded content on your phone or tablet during the entire journey, without interruption.
With this new regulatory approval, Malaysia Airlines, Firefly, and MASwings are the first airlines to allow Gate-to-Gate connectivity for passengers departing from Malaysia.
We are committed to providing exceptional customer service and innovative travel experiences which places customers at the heart of everything we do.
By enabling gate-to-gate connectivity across all our airlines, it allows passengers to stay connected throughout their journey with us; whether it’s to keep their loved ones updated on the move or even get some work done during their flight.
Malaysia Airlines To Provide Free Wi-Fi For 2H 2023!
Malaysia Airlines also announced that it will provide limited free Wi-Fi connectivity to its Business Suite, Business Class, and Enrich Platinum (regardless of ticket class) passengers from 1 July until 31 December 2023.
Each passenger will be given up to 100 MB of free Wi-Fi data per sector to use, at a speed of up to 512 kbps. This free Wi-Fi offer will be made available on 20 Malaysia Airlines aircraft.
Beyond that free limit, passengers can continue to surf the Internet through its pay-per-use Wi-Fi offering. In addition, all passengers can access its wireless in-flight entertainment system through its web-based MHStudio service.
As part of our connectivity strategy, we will be actively expanding the number of our aircraft equipped with Wi-Fi to provide an improved in-flight experience to our valued customers. With a focus on safety, comfort, and convenience, we are dedicated to making air travel more accessible and enjoyable for all of our passengers.
We will continue to invest in innovative technologies and services to meet the changing needs and provide comfort to our passengers as guests to our ‘home’.
The wireless connectivity onboard MAS aircraft, and passenger ability to use their devices from Gate-to-Gate, will come in handy with the refreshed Boeing 737 cabin, which feature lightweight seats that lack in-flight entertainment screens.
Instead, these new seats will come with a personal device holder, and a pair of USB Type A and USB Type C charging ports.
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
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.
Did four SIA pilots die suddenly from COVID-19 vaccine side effects, after Singapore Airlines demanded they get the fourth dose?!
Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Four SIA Pilots Died Suddenly From Vaccine In May!
People are sharing obituary photos of four SIA pilots, claiming that they died suddenly from COVID-19 vaccine side effects in May 2023, after Singapore Airlines demanded that they get the fourth dose!
4 SIA captains died within a week after the airline demanded they take the FOURTH jab. Criminal…. 😱😓🫣💉 This is very serious considering 4 pilots passed away and they looked young and healthy. Chances are that they vaccineted at almost the same time. This is very serious without the slightest doubt. Considering the spike in overall death in Singapore in the month of May 2023! Ong Ye Kung and Iswaran care to shed some light??? The public want to know the reasons…. 4th jab at the same time as demanded by SIA? Don’t just be obvious. Period…
1️⃣ Are You Aware? 4 SIA pilots departed, within two weeks. 1. Capt. Wee Loong (sudden) — 11 May ’23 2. Capt. Fernando Cid (Cancer) — 24 May ’23 3. Capt. Colin Tan Joo Huat (sudden) — 25 May ’23 4. Capt. Sebastian Tan (Cancer) — 26 May ’23 Condolences to loved ones. May their souls rest in peace. 😔 We are facing unprecedented times. How many more will have to suffer before we are “united and cohesive” to ask questions, speak up, and demand accountability? 2️⃣ From the archives (Jan ’21): SIA can be *world’s first vaccinated international airline: Ong Ye Kung* 🤡 Minister of *Transport* OYK: “Those who come through Singapore will know that the city-state is safe and its people are united and cohesive.” 🍭SIA Chief: “Vaccinations…game-changer in facilitating the opening of borders once again”. https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/…/sia-can-be-worlds… Besides the staff and crew, how many of us were coerced into taking untested, experimental jabs to travel – for work or leisure? 😔 📲 Do a small part. Help share. #OurLivesMatter
Many warned that this would continue to happen, exponentially. Honestly, I can’t keep up. So many aggressive cancers, #suddencardiacarrest #diedsuddenlynews NO #coincidence 1. Capt. Wee Loong (sudden) — 11 May 2023 2. Capt. Fernando Cid (cancer) — 24 May 2023 3. Capt. Colin Tan Joo Huat (sudden) — 25 May 2023 4. Capt. Sebastian Tan (cancer) — 26 May 2023
However, none of their obituaries mentioned their individual cause of death. They also do not appear to have any social media accounts, or families posting about their deaths on social media.
Random netizens are claiming that Captains Wee Leong and Colin Tan died suddenly from cardiac arrest, while Captains Fernando Cid and Sebastian Tan died from cancer. It is unknown if any of those causes of death are accurate.
Until and unless Singapore Airlines, or the families of the four pilots, publicly announce their individual cause of death, anyone who tells you that the four SIA pilots died of this or that cause is likely lying to you.
Fact #2 : No Evidence SIA Requires 4th COVID-19 Vaccine Dose
In January 2021, Singapore Airlines (SIA) announced that it hopes to become the world’s first airline to vaccinated all of its crew members against COVID-19.
SIA set a deadline of September 1, and managed to vaccinate 99% of its active pilots, cabin crew and frontline ground crew by 19 August 2021.
However, there is no evidence that Singapore Airlines recently demanded that its pilots and cabin crew get the fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose, which would be their second booster dose.
As of 31 May 2023, the Singapore Ministry of Health only recommends that senior citizens and medically vulnerable people receive the fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose. Even then, it is a “recommendation”, not a requirement.
It is unlikely for Singapore Airlines to mandate a fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose, when the Singapore Ministry of Health does not recommend it for healthy young or middle-aged adults.
Until and unless Singapore Airlines, or the families of the four pilots, confirm it, anyone who tells you that the four SIA pilots received the fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose is likely lying to you.
Fact #3 : SIA Had Approximately 3,000 Pilots In 2022
In May 2022 (last year), SIA Chief Executive Goh Choon Phong announced that Singapore Airlines was looking to recruit 2,000 cabin crew as air travel was picking up.
While he declined to say how many pilots SIA employed in 2022, he said that the number of pilots at SIA Group is still similar to pre-COVID-19 numbers, with just “a very small number” who have left. Pre-pandemic, Singapore Airlines had about 3,200 pilots.
While it may shocking to hear that four SIA pilots died in the same month, it is not really shocking when you factor in the death rate in Singapore, which is 5.8 per 1,000 (2021).
Assuming Singapore Airlines only has 3,000 pilots, it should expect 17 of its pilots to die on a given year, or about 1.5 pilots a month. In addition to these four pilots, a fifth pilot died in December. So five SIA pilots dying in 2023 is exceptionally low.
Fact #4 : COVID-19 Vaccines Do Not Cause Cancer
There is no such thing as “turbo cancer”, and there is no evidence that any COVID-19 vaccine can cause cause, or make cancer go “turbo”.
Even if, hypothetically, COVID-19 vaccines are carcinogenic (which is not the case), it will take many years before vaccinated people can conceivably develop cancer of any kind.
It is simply not possible for anyone to develop cancer right after getting the COVID-19 vaccine. Needless to say – no COVID-19 vaccine has been found to cause cancer of any kind.
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong getting his COVID-19 vaccination
Fact #5 : COVID-19 Vaccines Do Not Cause Cardiac Arrest
As of March 2023, over 13 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered globally, and their safety and efficacy have been closely monitored in the last 2.5 years. While mRNA vaccines have been shown to cause myocarditis in some children and young adults, none of the vaccines have been shown to cause cardiac arrest.
The truth is – sudden cardiac arrest is relatively common in young healthy adults, even athletes. The United States alone records over half a million cases of sudden cardiac arrest cases every year – an incidence of about 130 per 100,000 individuals per year.
Many people have undiagnosed heart conditions that may not produce noticeable symptoms in daily life, but could result in sudden cardiac arrest at any time. The risk of developing sudden cardiac arrest also increases during stressful or strenuous activities, which is why many countries mandate the provision of Automated External Defibrillator (AED) devices in public facilities like malls, sporting centres, gyms, schools, parks, etc.
Singapore has installed AEDs in public places for many years now, because people have been suffering sudden cardiac arrests long before the COVID-19 vaccines were invented. This was what the Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugan wrote in July 2019:
Many buildings in Singapore are already equipped with AEDs such as schools, community centres, sports stadiums, bus interchanges, MRT stations, Singapore Armed Forces camps and Home Team facilities. Several commercial and office buildings have also installed AEDs.
Under the Save-A-Life (“SAL”) initiative, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) has installed AEDs at the lift lobbies of HDB blocks in all 89 constituencies, with one AED for every two HDB blocks. SCDF is looking to expand its SAL initiative beyond HDB estates to condominiums.
The SCDF is also working with the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Singapore Heart Foundation (“SHF”) to encourage more public and private establishments to install AEDs and register their publicly-accessible AEDs with the SHF, in order to build a national registry of publicly-accessible AEDs.
In short, COVID-19 vaccines do NOT cause cardiac arrests, no matter what anti-vaccination activists may claim. But COVID-19 vaccines also cannot prevent people from getting cardiac arrests, or dying from them.
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!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
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.
Can the hydrogen and methane in your fart catch fire or explode if your phone rings?!
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Your Phone Can Explode / Catch Fire If You Fart!
People are sharing a video on WhatsApp and social media platforms, claiming that it shows a phone exploding or catching fire after its owner farted!
Be Careful! ⛔ Never fart with your cell phone in your pocket ! Gases are flammable ! 😱🤣
Human fart contains Hydrogen and methane both can combust with a spark ,please be careful when you fart with your phone in your back pocket. Funny but so true😅😅
Presumably, the phone triggered the fire when it rang after the man farted… but is that really possible?
Truth : Your Phone Won’t Explode / Catch Fire If You Fart!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created and shared on WhatsApp and social media, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : This Is An Old Video From South Africa
The viral video isn’t new. This video of a CCTV recording was recorded in South Africa in March 2020.
Fact #2 : It Was Not A Phone, But A Power Bank
The video does not show the man’s phone exploding or catching fire. Rather, it was a power bank that caught fire.
Fact #3 : Flatulence Is Combustible
Farts, or flatulence, is combustible, because it contains methane and hydrogen sulphide which are produced by bacteria digestion of our food. However, the power bank did not catch fire because the man farted.
Even if the man farted a great deal of combustible gas, there needs to be a spark for there to be any fire. Power banks don’t generate sparks. Phones, even when they are ringing, do not generate sparks – that is just an urban legend.
So flatulence may be combustible, but neither a phone or a power bank will set it off, because neither produce sparks or an open flame.
Fact #4 : Power Bank Apparently Overheated
At the time the incident happened, 29 year-old Lwando Mashiamahle was waiting for his girlfriend to buy a plane ticket at the OR Tambo International Airport in South Africa.
While sitting down to wait, he realised that the power bank in his pocket felt warm. But he didn’t think anything of it, until it suddenly burst into flames.
It felt quite hot in my pocket but I thought it was normal, like sometimes your phone heats up when you’re using it, but I never thought it could explode,
I was so shocked, I didn’t know what to do, I automatically just lost my mind. I was very, very scared.
Mashiamahle was not injured when his power bank burst into flames, because he was able to quickly take off his trousers, and avoid getting burnt.
Fortunately I have no injuries but my pants were burnt and I had to quickly find the nearest shop to buy a new pair.
He is very fortunate, as lithium battery fires are very strong and hard to put out.
Fact #6 : Phone / Power Bank Batteries Are A Fire Risk
Despite claims our phone or smartphone can spark flames in petrol / gas stations, or even cause a gas stove explosion, there is simply no scientific evidence for those urban legends.
The electrodynamic speakers in your phone vibrate to produce sound waves. They do not generate sparks. Without a source of sparks or an open flame, even a gas leak wouldn’t catch fire and explode.
The lithium ion battery in our phone and power bank, however, are a fire hazard. Roughly one in every 10 million lithium-ion batteries will fail and catch fire. That sounds like very low risk, but not when there are BILLIONS of lithium-ion batteries in use around the world!
That is why it is forbidden to pack any device with a lithium-ion battery into luggage that needs to be checked into an aircraft cargo hold. Everyone must carry their phone, computer and power bank using these lithium-based batteries into the cabin, so that if they catch fire, the crew are aware and can quickly put them out.
Please help us fight fake news – SHARE this article, and SUPPORT our work!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
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.
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
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.
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.
Please help us fight fake news – SHARE this article, and SUPPORT our work!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
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.
Did WEF founder Klaus Schwab ban vaccinated pilots from transporting World Economic Forum members in and out of Davos 2023?!
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : Klaus Schwab Banned Vaccinated Pilots From WEF 2023!
Various websites and social media users are claiming that WEF founder Klaus Schwab banned vaccinated pilots from transporting World Economic Forum members in and out of Davos 2023!
Here is one example, which is rather long, so feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!
WEF Hires Unvaccinated Pilots To Fly Them Into Davos: “Safety of Our Members Is No. 1 Priority”
Klaus Schwab has banned vaccinated pilots from transporting World Economic Forum members in and out of Davos due to the safety risk they pose.
According to reports, WEF members are being transport solely by unvaccinated pilots to the 2023 conference in Davos, Switzerland.
According to pilot Alan Dana, Davos elites have expressed interest in hiring unvaccinated pilots to fly their business trips.
“He’s getting calls now from wealthy businessmen and companies to fly their executives around on business jets with unvaccinated crew,” Dana said on “Maria Zeee Uncensored” this week.
Infowars.com reports: “They get the luxury of being able to choose, because there are still a large amount of crew available in the United States who are not vaccinated because the companies they work for didn’t mandate it.”
“These wealthy businessmen are requiring unvaccinated crew on their business trips,” Dana added. “Passengers on an airline who bought a ticket don’t have that luxury.”
Two years later, emerging data and increase documented incidents of individuals who “died suddenly” after receiving the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine appear to be making the elite second-guess who flies them around the world.
Truth : Klaus Schwab Did Not Ban Vaccinated Pilots From WEF 2023!
This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created and/or propagated by anti-vaccination activists, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : No Evidence Vaccinated Pilots Pose Any Safety Risk
This fake news appears to be based around prior claims that vaccinated airline pilots have a high risk of dying suddenly.
It may also be fuelled by the recent baseless allegations that the FAA loosened rules on pilot EKGs because so many of them had heart problems from the COVID-19 vaccines.
In any case, there is no evidence that vaccinated pilots pose any safety risk to their passengers, whether WEF 2023 attendees flying on private jets, or regular passengers on commercial airlines.
Fact #2 : Claim Was Based On Second-Hand Information
While the article claims that there are multiple “reports”, the only source for this claim is an interview with former Jetstar pilot Alan Dana on Maria Zeee Uncensored.
Even so, Alan Dana was relaying second-hand information from someone else – Josh Yoder – the head of US Freedom Flyers – which Infowars peg as “an anti-vaccine mandate group of pilots”.
He’s getting calls now from wealthy businessmen and companies to fly their executives around on business jets with unvaccinated crew.
They get the luxury of being able to choose, because there are still a large amount of crew available in the United States who are not vaccinated because the companies they work for didn’t mandate it.
These wealthy businessmen are requiring unvaccinated crew on their business trips. Passengers on an airline who bought a ticket don’t have that luxury.
Fact #3 : No Evidence Of Vaccinated Pilot Ban At Davos 2023
There is no evidence that Klaus Schwab banned vaccinated pilots from transporting World Economic Forum members in and out of Davos for WEF 2023.
Schwab is merely the founder and chairman of the World Economic Forum, and has no power over air travel policies in Switzerland. It would impossible for him to institute any ban on vaccinated pilot, even if he was so inclined.
And consider this for a moment – how would these ultra-rich WEF attendees prove that their pilots are unvaccinated? Is there an unvaccinated certificate?
Fact #4 : No Evidence WEF Hired Pilots
There is no evidence that the World Economic Forum hired pilots to transport attendees to its 2023 annual meeting.
The World Economic Forum organisation only organises the annual meeting, but does not handle the transportation or accommodation for attendees.
Fact #5 : Most WEF Attendees Do Not Fly By Private Jet
On average, about 3,000 people attend each World Economic Forum annual meeting. While many of the ultra-rich fly by private jet to Davos for World Economic Forum 2023, they are relatively few – less than 150 private jets for the first 3 days.
Most WEF attendees likely flew by commercial airlines to Zurich Airport, or if they are Europeans – took the train as recommended by WEF 2023 organisers. I mention this only because most airlines require their pilots to be fully-vaccinated.
Therefore, it would be rather pointless for Klaus Schwab to ban vaccinated pilots for private jets, when most attendees are being flown into Switzerland by vaccinated pilots on commercial airlines.
Ironically, Josh Yoder himself – the original source – refuted the claim in a tweet on January 15, 2023! He also called for people to unfollow people making such claims!
He stated that he only said that wealthy businessmen reached out to him to look for unvaccinated pilot. He never said that it was WEF or Davos who reached out to him.
He also notably did not say that the unvaccinated were being hired to ferry those rich people to Davos for World Economic Forum 2023.
Click bait journalism is a scourge. I never said that the WEF/Davos has reached out looking for unvaccinated pilots. What I did say was that wealthy businessmen have reached out to me for that purpose. Unfollow anyone spreading this garbage.@USFreedomFlyers @TuckerCarlson
Fact #7 : No Evidence Businessmen Are Looking For Unvaccinated Pilots
Even that less dramatic claim by Josh Yoder is impossible to verify. There is no other source for his claim. Neither has other private jet pilots or companies publicly made similar claims.
It doesn’t help that Yoder himself is known for promoting conspiracy theories about COVID-19 and the vaccines.
I should point out that if these ultra-rich individuals are so concerned about COVID-19 vaccines, they would have long sought out unvaccinated pilots to fly their private jets, or engaged private jet companies with unvaccinated pilots.
They wouldn’t be hiring pilots just to fly to the World Economic Forum. There is no specific reason why there is additional risk flying to the WEF, as opposed to any other flight they would normally take.
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!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
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.
Did the FAA admit that pilot EKGs are no longer normal, because the COVID-19 vaccines have damaged their hearts?!
Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!
Claim : FAA Admitted Pilot EKGs Are Abnormal From COVID-19 Vaccines!
An article by Steve Kirsch has gone viral, claiming that the FAA admitted that pilot EKGs are no longer normal, because the COVID-19 vaccines have damaged the hearts of many pilots?!
Here is an excerpt, which itself is really long, so feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!
In the October 2022 version of the FAA Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners, the FAA quietly widened the EKG parameters beyond the normal range (from a PR max of .2 to unlimited). And they didn’t widen the range by a little. They widened it by a lot. It was done after the vaccine rollout.
This is extraordinary. They did it hoping nobody would notice. It worked for a while. Nobody caught it.
But you can’t hide these things for long.
This is a tacit admission from the US government that the COVID vaccine has damaged the hearts of our pilots. Not just a few pilots. A lot of pilots and a lot of damage.
The cardiac harm of course is not limited to pilots.
My best guess right now is that over 50M Americans sustained some amount of heart damage from the shot.
That’s a lot of people who will be very upset when they realize the vaccine they took to reduce their chance of dying from COVID actually worked in reverse making it:
More likely that people will get COVID
Be hospitalized from COVID and other diseases
Die from COVID (and other diseases)
You also have an excellent chance of getting a lifetime of heart damage for no extra charge.
But don’t worry; you can’t sue them. They fixed the law so none of them aren’t liable (the doctors, the drug companies, the government). After all, you took the vaccine of your own free will. It’s not like you were forced (or coerced) to take it or anything like that! And there were plenty of people warning you not to take the shots (even though they censored most of them).
In this article, I will explain the evidence and thinking behind all my claims.
Truth : FAA Did Not Admit Pilot EKGs Are Abnormal From Vaccines!
This is yet another example of MISINFORMATION created and/or propagated by anti-vaccination activists, and here are the reasons why…
Fact #1 : EKG = ECG
First, let me quickly clarify that EKG and ECG refer to the same test – electrocardiogram.
EKG is the abbreviation original German spelling (elektrokardiogramm), while ECG is the abbreviation for the English spelling.
Fact #2 : FAA Split 1st Degree AV Block Into Two Categories
On October 26, 2022, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) amended its medical policy on Heart Arrhythmias, specifically First-Degree Atrioventricular Block (1st Degree AV Block).
Previously, pilots with first-degree AV block were required to undergo tests and submit documentation to prove that they had “no evidence of structural function or coronary heart disease” to be certified to fly.
The FAA’s amended medical policy now splits pilots with first-degree AV block into two groups:
PR interval of less than 300 ms : certified for flight if no symptoms or Approved Medical Examiner (AME) concerns
PR interval of 300 ms or more : pilots must submit a current Holter and cardiac evaluation to the FAA for review
The claim that the FAA expanded the limit from 0.2 (seconds?) to unlimited is nonsense. There is a hard limit of 300 milliseconds (0.3 seconds) – from that point, the pilot must submit documentation for FAA’s evaluation.
Fact #3 : PR Interval Of Less Than 300 ms Usually Benign
The ECG of a person with a normal heart would generally have a PR interval of between 120 and 200 milliseconds. Anything above that usually indicates an AV block.
However, first-degree AV block is a misnomer – it only delays the electrical signal, it does not block it. Therefore, first-degree AV block often do not present with any noticeable symptoms.
On top of that, no treatment is indicated for people with first-degree AV block if their PR interval is less than 300 milliseconds, because it rarely causes any symptoms.
In an otherwise healthy heart, this is usually a benign condition and rarely causes any symptoms. In general, it does not require specific treatment besides a complete evaluation by a physician.
– Dr. Roland Assi, cardiac surgeon and assistant professor at Yale University
It is not uncommon for people to have such delays. If the [AV] block is less than 300 milliseconds, there is no indication for further therapy nor increased risk or impairment of bodily function
– Dr. Eric Adler, cardiologist and professor of medicine at University of California, San Diego.
Fact #4 : Long PR Interval Not A Vaccine Side Effect
I should point out that longer PR interval is not a COVID-19 vaccine side effect. In fact, a PR interval of less than 300 milliseconds is considered normal in many healthy people, with a PR interval of less than 400 milliseconds normal in healthy athletes.
For reference, in healthy athletes a PR interval <400 msec is considered normal. So, the 300 msec cutoff may be considered conservative in many healthy people.
– Dr. Richard Kovacs, chief medical officer at the America College of Cardiology.
Fact #5 : Change Was Not Made Because Of Vaccine
The FAA has spoken out about the claim, stating that the decision to adjust their policy for first-degree AV block was based on current science and data, and not because pilots were developing heart problems from COVID-19 vaccinations.
When making changes to medical requirements and guidance, the FAA follows standard processes based on data and science.
Our cardiology consultants provided information that anything under 300ms requires no additional testing and is not a risk for sudden or subtle incapacitation.
Fact #6 : FAA Considered Long PR Interval Normal Before COVID-19 Vaccines
The FAA had earlier released a document that said that a first-degree AV block with PR interval between 0.21 and 0.29 seconds is considered normal.
That document was published on 3 July 2019 – more than 5 months before the first COVID-19 outbreak in China, and more than 17 months before the first COVID-19 vaccine was approved!
Fact #6 : American College of Cardiology Approves Of New FAA Guidelines
Dr. Richard Kovacs, chief medical officer at the America College of Cardiology (ACC), said that the updated FAA criteria for widening ECG parameters for first-degree AV block is consistent with ACC guidelines.
The FAA’s updated criteria for widening the ECG parameters regarding AV Block are reasonable and consistent with ACC guideline recommendations.
Fact #7 : FAA Refutes Claims Of Complications From COVID-19 Vaccines
The FAA’s federal air surgeon has also determined that the Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, and Novavax COVIC-19 vaccines are safe for its pilots and air traffic controllers.
The FAA also refuted claims that COVID-19 vaccines have caused accidents or incapacitation of pilots:
The FAA has no evidence of aircraft accidents or incapacitations caused by pilots suffering medical complications associated with COVID-19 vaccine.
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!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
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.
The FTX drama continues as SBF was seen flying business class, while Judge Ronnie Abrams recused herself from the case!
Judge Ronnie Abrams Recuses From SBF FTX Case!
The FTX drama continues with the shocking announcement by US District Judge Ronnie Abrams over a potential conflict of interest.
On Friday afternoon, December 23, Federal Judge Ronnie Abrams of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York recused herself from the FTX case.
The judge’s husband, Greg D. Andres, is a partner at the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell, which advised FTX in 2021. Though Andres himself did not personally advise FTX, Abrams chose to recuse herself from the case “to avoid any possible conflict, or the appearance of one.”
The order also stated that Davis Polk & Wardwell previously represented parties “that may be adverse to FTX and Defendant Bankman-Fried,” though Andres allegedly did not represent those clients either.
RONNIE ABRAMS, United States District Judge:
It has come to the Court’s attention that the law firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, at which my husband is a partner, advised FTX in 2021, as well as represented parties that may be adverse to FTX and Defendant Bankman-Fried in other proceedings (or potential proceedings). My husband has had no involvement in any of these representations. These matters are confidential and their substance is unknown to the Court. Nonetheless, to avoid any possible conflict, or the appearance of one, the Court hereby recuses itself from this action. See 28
U.S.C. § 455.
This decision came just one day after Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) was released from custody pending trial on eight criminal charges including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and violations of federal campaign finance laws.
It is unknown why Judge Ronnie Abrams chose to wait until now to recuse herself from the FTX case. But it should be pointed that it was a different judge – Gabrial Gorenstein, who approved the record-setting $250 million bond that did not require SBF to pay a single cent up front.
A new judge from the Southern District of New York will now have to be selected to oversee Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial.
SBF Free + Flying Business On “No Cash Up Front” FTX Case Bail!
In the meantime, the disgraced FTX co-founder was spotted “chilling” in the American Airlines Greenwich Business Class lounge located at Terminal 8 of the John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City.
Sam Bankman-Fried was accompanied by his parents, FBI agents and lawyers. He had full access to what looks like an Acer Predator gaming laptop, and a smartphone. When he was asked for a photo, SBF replied, “Haha maybe not today“.
You may recall that, on December 9, SBF claimed that he did not have access to (much of) his professional or personal data, despite having obvious access to a laptop and a mobile phone.
1) I still do not have access to much of my data — professional or personal. So there is a limit to what I will be able to say, and I won’t be as helpful as I’d like. But as the committee still thinks it would be useful, I am willing to testify on the 13th.
SBF was later spotted in the Business class section of an American Airlines flight, “disguised with a beanie”. He appeared to be engaged in conversation with a suited executive.
The suited executive could be his lawyer, Mark Cohen, who may have been accompanying the disgraced FTX co-founder to his parents’ home in Palo Alto, California, where he has to serve his house arrest while awaiting trial.
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
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.