Tag Archives: China

Did Russian Missiles Destroy Port Of Odessa In Ukraine?!

Did Russian missiles hit British ships that exploded and destroyed the port of Odessa in Ukraine?!

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

Claim : Russian Missiles Destroyed Port Of Odessa In Ukraine!

Pro-Russian propagandists and supporters (vatniks) are promoting a video that claims to show Russian missiles hitting two British ships carrying explosives, trigging a massive explosion that destroyed the port of Odessa in Ukraine!

BULLSEYE ! 🎯.

The port of Odessa, Ukraine, was hit by four Russian missiles that hit two British cargo ships that were just below the ground, triggering a massive EXPLOSION.

Great shot. Brits ships carrying high explosives to Ukraine . . mischief tsk tsk ! 🤔🤨😱

The video, which is about 1 minute and 55 seconds long, is also being shared by Chinese netizens in the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book), and by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) in WhatsApp and Western social media platforms.

Truth : Russian Missiles Did Not Destroy Odessa Or British Ships!

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

Fact #1 : Those Videos Are Over 3 Years Old!

First, let me start by pointing out that this incident did not occur in 2023. The videos were actually recorded at approximately 6 PM on Tuesday, 4 August 2020.

The explosions not only occurred 18 months before Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, they occurred almost 3 years ago!

Fact #2 : The Explosions Occurred In Beirut, Not Odessa

The massive explosions in the viral video did not occur in the Ukrainian port city of Odessa, but literally – a thousand miles away, at the port city of Beirut, Lebanon.

On 4 August 2020, a fire broke out in Warehouse 12 at the port of Beirut. Warehouse 12 contained 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, as well as fireworks.

About 20 minutes later, the first explosion at the warehouse sent a large cloud of smoke billowing into the evening sky, with bright firework flashes.

Then 35 seconds later, the fire triggered a much larger explosion with a massive shock wave that rocked Beirut, and was felt as far away as Israel and Cyprus – more than 240 kilometres away!

The force of the explosion was estimated to be around 500 to 1,100 tons of TNT, with the US Geological Survey measuring the event as equivalent to a 3.3 magnitude earthquake!

Fact #3 : Russia Is Blockading Ukrainian Ports

Even though many Western countries have provided Ukraine with billions in dollars worth of military equipment and other forms of aid, they are not being delivered with ships. That’s because Russia has blockaded Ukrainian ports along the Black Sea.

Even though ships were allowed to enter the port of Odessa under the UN-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative, they were only allowed to transport grain and other food products, and fertiliser.

Ships involved in this initiative were inspected to ensure they would not be carrying unauthorised cargo or people. So it is impossible for any British ship to transport high explosives to the Port of Odessa.

Fact #4 : UK Aid Are Delivered By Land + Air

The United Kingdom provides billions of dollars worth of military equipment, including high explosives and ammunition to Ukraine. However, none of them are being delivered through ships due to the Russian naval blockade, as mentioned above.

Instead, the military equipment and other aid are being delivered through at least three NATO countries adjoining Ukraine. To avoid accusations that NATO is directly involved in the Ukraine War, the equipment are transported or flown to the Ukrainian border.

After that, Ukrainians either transport the equipment over the border, or take possession of them at the border.

Fact #5 : This Is Just Ukraine War Fake News

Ultimately, the viral video is yet another example of Russian propaganda, which is shoddy as usual. However, it is being shared and promoted by Chinese netizens, and the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛).

Here is a selection of Russian and Ukraine War propaganda that have been proven false:

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

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Long Queues At KLIA From Immigration Work To Rule Protest?!

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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.

https://www.techarp.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/WhatsApp-Video-2023-07-04-at-14.35.19.mp4?_=1

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.

Fact #2 : Unknown If Work To Rule Is Happening

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.

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

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

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Did Asian Lady Shoot American Bully At Gas Station?!

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Did an Asian lady shoot dead an American bully who assaulted her at a gas station?!

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

Claim : Asian Lady Shot American Bully At Gas Station?!

People are sharing a video showing a man approaching a lady, and opening her car door before hitting her. She drives off a short distance, causing the man to drop two items on the floor. The man catches up with the car again, and opens the door, for the lady to shoot him several times.

Pro-CCP netizens and the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) are sharing this video as evidence of racist Americans targeting Chinese people:

‘Wow… the Chinese in America are no longer taking trash from these American rogues. Good on her!!! l read every Asian American is buying arms to protect himself/herself from these racist gangsters and bullies.

Gun rights supporters are also sharing it as an example of how guns save lives:

Patrick Parsons : Thug attacks woman at a gas station. She shoots him. #SlugsForThugs RT if you believe GUNS SAVE LIVES!

Ironically, Stew Peters believes it was a white person fighting back against black people!

Stew Peters : Whites are fighting back!

https://www.techarp.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Baltimore-gas-station-shooting.mp4?_=2

Truth : No Asian Lady Shot That Man At The Gas Station!

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

Fact #1 : It Was An Old Video

First, let me start by pointing out that this incident did not occur in 2023. The video was actually recorded on Wednesday, July 29, 2020, at the Exxon gas station near Honeygo Boulevard and White Marsh Mall in Baltimore, Maryland.

Fact #2 : It Was Not A Drug Deal Gone Bad

Some websites and people are claiming that the lady was a drug dealer who tried to sell drugs (weed / marijuana) to the man’s kids at the gas station, which was why the man confronted her.

That’s not true. The shooter was not attempting to sell drugs to anyone at the gas station.

Fact #3 : That Was Not An Asian Lady

Now, this may surprise you, but that Asian lady in the video isn’t actually a lady. It was a man with long hair tied in a ponytail.

Some websites and people falsely claimed that it was the woman’s boyfriend in the car who fired the gun. That’s not true either. There was only one person in the car.

There is also no indication the shooter was Asian, or that racism had anything to do with the incident.

Fact #4 : The “Lady” Cut Queue In The Store

A witness to the shooting, Daijuan Jett, was 10 feet away when the shooting occurred. He explained that the incident started in the gas station store, while he was queuing up to buy a drink.

The shooter (A), who was actually a man (and not a white / Asian lady), cut in front of people queuing up, causing another man (B) to speak up and ask him to get to the back of the line.

He was trying to cut in front of everyone in the line, and the victim, which was shot at—he was telling the guy that was cutting in front of everyone to get behind everyone.

Jett said that A stepped out of the line after being confronted and returned to his car. B followed him to his car, to give A a piece of his mind. That was when things went sideways.

He opened the driver’s door and let the man know…the guy that was in the car, the suspect, he grabbed a gun and just fired about five or six shots.

Fact #5 : The Victim Was Shot Twice

The victim was shot twice in his upper body, and taken to the hospital. It is unknown how he fared after the shooting.

He also appeared to be the driver of the red car seen across the shooter’s car. His car was removed from the gas station at around 10:50 PM later that night.

Fact #6 : This Video Is Being Abused By Different Parties

This video is, unfortunately, being abused by different parties to drive narratives that are contrary to what actually happened.

Pro-CCP netizens and the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) are using the video to promote the idea that Americans are racist and violent, while gun rights supporters are promoting it as evidence that guns save lives.

As you have seen – the truth is they were all lying / misrepresenting the video. Here are other examples you may have seen on WhatsApp or social media platforms recently:

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

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

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Did Woman Smash Bottles Of Alcohol In Lawless US?!

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Does a viral video show a woman smashing hundreds of bottles of alcohol in lawless US?!

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

Claim : Woman Smashed Bottles Of Alcohol In Lawless US!

Pro-CCP netizens and the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) are sharing this video on Douyin (China’s version of TikTok) and WhatsApp, as evidence of a lawless US.

The video shows a woman smashing hundreds of bottles of alcohol, allegedly in a Walmart store in the United States. It’s accompanied by messages like this:

‘Zero dollar shopping’ can only take away all you can grab. This one, just destroy everything on site.

No wonder Walmart will close 21 stores in 12 US states and Washington DC. Four Chicago stores are among the latest to join the list.

https://www.techarp.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Woman-smashes-bottles-of-alcohol.mp4?_=3

Truth : Woman Did Not Smash Bottles Of Alcohol In US!

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

Fact #1 : This Video Was Edited

First, let me just point out that the viral video clip was edited, presumably to cast a different light on the story.

The video clip was cut short so you won’t see a security officer leading her away. It was also flipped in half the video to extend the video and make it look like the woman was doing more damage than she really was, and possibly to make it harder for people to locate the source of the video.

Fact #2 : Viral Video Was Recorded In 2020

The viral video isn’t new, even though the wumao and pro-CCP netizens are suggesting it just happened. The video was actually recorded at around 2:30 PM on Thursday, 25 November 2020.

Fact #3 : Viral Video Was Recorded In The United Kingdom

While the wumao and pro-CCP netizens are promoting the video as evidence of a lawless US (as opposed to the glorious security of CCP-controlled China), the viral video was not even recorded in the United States!

The incident also did not occur in a Walmart. The viral video was recorded at an Aldi store, in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.

Fact #4 : The Woman Did Not Steal Anything

While the wumao and pro-CCP netizens are promoting the video as evidence of rampant theft (because no one steals in CCP-controlled China?), the woman did not steal a thing!

The woman – 36 year-old Barbara Stange-Alvarez of Swingate, used her arm to sweep hundreds of bottles of alcohol off the shelves at Aldi the aisle containing bottles of alcohol, and started sweeping bottles off the shelves, before picking them up one by one to smash on the floor.

About 90 seconds into her smashing spree, she slipped and fell onto the broken glass, cutting her hand. A security officer from another store arrived and detained her until police arrived. They then took her to the Lister Hospital in Stevenage, where she kicked a security guard in the shin and hurled racial insults at him.

Barbara was charged with criminal damage, racially-motivated common assault, and racially-aggravated public order offence. She was not charged with theft.

Fact #5 : The Woman Was Mentally Unwell

Stange-Alvarez later told the St. Albans Magistrates’ Court that she was “suffering from mental health issues” because she was unable to work during the pandemic. She also said she was not receiving the treatment she thought she should have.

On the day she smashed those bottles, she visited a local mental health clinic seeking help, but was unhappy with the response and “lost the plot”.

On 18 January 2022, Barbara Stange-Alvarez was given a 12-week sentence suspended for 18 months, and required to undergo mental health treatment and rehabilitation, as well as pay Aldi £5,000 in compensation, and court costs of £85.

Fact #6 : Walmart Closing 23 Stores Due To Poor Performance

The fake news creator copied the phrase “Walmart will close 21 stores in 12 states and DC. Four Chicago stores are among the latest to join the list.” from a Business Insider article, without actually reading it properly.

The article actually states that, in addition to those 12 retail stores, Walmart is also closing pick-up only stores in Illinois and Arkansas. That’s a total of 23 stores.

Theft at Walmart stores has always been an issue, as Walmart CEO Doug McMillion pointed out, but it does not mean the stores will close because of it:

Theft is an issue. It’s higher than what it has historically been. Prices will be higher and/or stores will close.

Walmart has been quietly closing stores every year since 2019, because they were “underperforming” and had “poor financial performance”.

Fact #7 : This Is Shameless Chinese Propaganda

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

All of the wumao articles that I looked at so far have proven to be false… in every instance. So please watch out for such false claims. Here is just the latest dozen,.

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

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

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Did US Intentionally Release COVID Virus In Wuhan?!

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Did the US government intentionally release the COVID-19 virus in Wuhan, to trigger a global pandemic so that people will accept vaccines?!

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

Claim : US Intentionally Released COVID Virus In Wuhan!

People are sharing an article by The Standard newspaper in Hong Kong, in which David Martin claimed that the US government intentionally released the COVID-19 virus in Wuhan, to trigger a global pandemic so that people will accept vaccines!

The article is being shared not only by anti-vaccination activists and conspiracy theorists, but also pro-CCP netizens and the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) as “evidence” that the COVID-19 pandemic was caused by the United States, and not China.

Here is an excerpt from the article. It’s long, so feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!

US ‘intentionally released Covid virus in Wuhan’ EU summit told

The Covid-19 coronavirus was “intentionally released” by the United States in Wuhan, China, with the target to trigger a global pandemic to raise public acceptance of vaccines, a US businessman specializing in patent auditing said.

David Martin, the founding chairman of M Cam asset management company, said at an International Covid Summit organized by the European Parliament in Brussels earlier this month that the US was responsible for the making of both coronaviruses causing the outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome – or SARS – in 2003 and the Covid-19 pandemic in the past three years.

The third edition of the summit featured speakers from anti-lockdown advocates to medical academia to discuss the global pandemic response. The speakers shed light on the possibility that the coronavirus which caused the pandemic was man-made, instead of naturally occurring.

In his speech, Martin said: “The pandemic that we alleged to have happened in the last few years did not happen overnight. In fact, the very specific pandemic using the coronavirus began at a different time.”

He said that in 1965, scientists discovered the coronavirus as a model of a pathogen – an agent that causes disease. They also found out that coronaviruses can be modified.

“Later we started learning how to modify a coronavirus by putting them in animals such as dogs and pigs,” Martin said, adding that such a practice became the basis for US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer’s first coronavirus spike protein vaccine in 1990.

But very soon the medical sector and drug makers found out that the vaccines did not work.

“Because the coronavirus is a malleable model, it mutates,” Martin said. “Every medical publication concluded that coronaviruses escape vaccines because it modifies and mutates too rapidly for a vaccine to be developed.”

In 2002, a university in North Carolina initiated a study to develop an “infectious replication defective,” which Martin interpreted as “a weapon to target individuals, but not have collateral damage.”

Characterizing the project as having “mysteriously preceded SARS by a year,” Martin said the coronavirus that caused the highly deadly infection was not from China and that it was “engineered” instead of naturally occurring.

On Covid-19, Martin said the coronavirus – named as SARS-CoV-2 by the World Health Organization – was poised for human emergence in 2016, with a preview about an “accidental or intentional release of a respiratory coronavirus” from a laboratory in Wuhan.

He said the purpose of the coronavirus “release” was to boost global acceptance on universal vaccination.

Explaining the common concern among the medical industry, Martin said: “Until an infectious crisis is very real, present and at the emergency threshold, it is often largely ignored.

“To sustain the funding base beyond the crisis, we need to increase the public understanding of the need for medical countermeasures, such as the pan-influenza, or pan-coronavirus, vaccine. A key drive is the media and the economics will follow the hype.

“We [pharmaceutical firms] need to use that hype to our advantage to get to the real issue. Investors will respond if they see profit at the end of the process,” he said.

Show less

Truth : US Did Not Release COVID-19 Virus In Wuhan!

This appears to be yet another example of FAKE NEWS circulating on WhatsApp and social media platforms like TikTok and Twitter, and here are the reasons why!

Fact #1 : International COVID Summit III Was Not Organised By EU Parliament

The article wrongly states that the International COVID Summit III was organised by the European Parliament.

As I explained in my previous article, the International COVID Summit III was not an official EU Parliament event. It appears to be a private conference organised by COVID-19 conspiracy theorists and anti-vaccination activists.

Held in the Anna Lindh room of the European Parliament, it was not an official EU or European Parliament event, and only 5 MEPs attended as “co-hosting members” of the event.

In other words – the speakers at this event was only “testifying” to the few attendees in the room, and to the event’s livestream, not to the European Parliament.

You can read all about the ICS3 in my earlier article, Why International COVID Summit III Criticised Vaccine!

Fact #2 : This Was The First International COVID Summit

The article also wrongly called it the “third edition of the summit”. The first International COVID Summit, and International COVID Summit 2 do not appear to exist!

What actually existed were the Global COVID-19 Summit, and the 2nd Global COVID-19 Summit, but they are both completely unrelated to this International COVID Summit III. Those were official events involving heads of states and governments, as well as heads of international organisations, NGOs, and industries across the world.

So why would this International COVID Summit jump to its “third” iteration, when this was really the first time it was held? Could it be trying to mislead people into thinking that it was the third version of the Global COVID-19 Summit?!

Fact #3 : Coronavirus Was First Isolated In 1930s

David Martin said that the first coronavirus as a model of a pathogen was isolated in 1965. Well, I have no idea what he meant by “as a model of a pathogen”, but that’s wrong on several counts.

first coronavirus sample (IBV) was isolated in 1930s
second coronavirus sample (MHV) was isolated in 1947
third coronavirus sample (B814) was isolated in 1961
fourth coronavirus sample (229-E) was isolated in 1966
all four virus samples were determined to be from same group, and named “coronavirus” in 1967

You can read more about this in my earlier article – Did US + UK Create COVID-19 As Bioweapon?!

Fact #4 : Vaccines Work Even When Virus Mutates

All viruses can mutate when they replicate, just like how all animals evolve through reproduction. Just because a virus mutates does not mean that vaccines stop working.

Vaccines are training programs that teach our immune system how to identify the actual virus, and make its own antibodies against it. It’s like training your army by showing them how the enemy soldiers look like and behave, so they can train and prepare for war.

The vaccines do not stay in your body to fight the COVID-19 virus. They only teach your immune system how to do that, and they do that regardless of whether the virus has mutated or not.

As viruses evolve, they may get better at evading the antibodies that your immune system developed to defeat them. But that doesn’t mean they are immune. The antibodies may not be as effective, but they will still offer some protection, reducing the risk of severe disease and death.

This isn’t just theory. During the pandemic, the first vaccines only targeted the original SARS-CoV-2 virus. But it continued to offer robust protection against the Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants that came after.

Fact #5 : No Evidence US Released COVID-19 Virus In Wuhan

Claims that the US released the COVID-19 in Wuhan to create the pandemic has been circulating since 2020, but until today – there has been ZERO EVIDENCE of that.

Pro-CCP netizens and the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) accused US soldiers like Maatje Benassi of spreading the COVID-19 virus while participating in the 2019 Military World Games. They even spread a fake video (see below), claiming to show an American soldier spreading the COVID-19 virus in a subway in Wuhan.

However, all of those claims have long been proven to be completely false. More importantly, David Martin himself did not offer any actual evidence that the US released the COVID-19 virus, intentionally or otherwise, in Wuhan.

Fact #6 : Most COVID-19 Vaccines Developed By Foreign Companies

The claim that the US government would create a pandemic to drive demand for vaccines is ludicrous. For one thing – big pharmaceutical companies are public-listed companies, and many are based outside of the United States.

More importantly – most COVID-19 vaccines were developed by foreign companies:

Only the Moderna Spikevax vaccine was developed in the United States
The Pfizer COMIRNATY vaccine was developed by German company, BioNTech
The AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine was developed by Oxford University, and AstraZeneca is a UK company.
The Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine was developed by Janssen Vaccines in the Netherlands.
The Sinovac, Sinopharm, CanSino COVID-19 vaccines were developed in China.

So the conspiracy theory that the United States created the COVID-19 pandemic for profit is absurd…

Fact #7 : Vaccines Are Cheaper Than Cures

I should also point out that prevention is always better and CHEAPER than the cure. Vaccines may seem expensive, and a way for Big Pharma to make billions of dollars. But vaccines are still better and CHEAPER than the cures.

Vaccines prevent you from developing severe COVID-19, thus negating your need to be hospitalised – which is expensive. Sure, Big Pharma now has drugs to treat COVID-19, like PAXLOVID, but they are much more expensive.

When it comes to dollars and common sense, vaccines are cheaper and better because they prevent hospitalisation. Big Pharma would make far more money selling you everything from expensive new drugs like PAXLOVID, or machines and drugs to keep you alive in the ICU!

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.

Recommended Reading

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Uncle Roger Cancelled In China After Xi Jinping Joke!

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Malaysian comedian Uncle Roger just got cancelled from Chinese social media platforms after making jokes about Xi Jinping and China!

Uncle Roger Cancelled In China After Xi Jinping Joke!

Uncle Roger just got cancelled from Chinese social media platforms after making jokes about Xi Jinping and China!

The Malaysian comedian, whose real name is Nigel Ng, said that his accounts on Bilibili and Weibo where he has 400,000 followers, were suspended due to a “violation of relevant laws and regulations“!

This crackdown by Chinese authorities came after he posted a video clip on Twitter and YouTube called “Uncle Roger about to get cancelled“.

In that video clip, which appears to be from an undated standup show, Uncle Roger cracked some jokes about China and Taiwan.

Uncle Roger : Are you from Boston?

Audience : Originally from Guangzhou.

Uncle Roger : Guangzhou, China. China, okay, China. Good country. Good country. Good country. Good country. Phew! We have to say that now, correct? All the phone listening. All the phone listening. This nephew got HUAWEI phone. They all listening.

Uncle Roger (tapping his phone) : All our phone tap into it. Long live President Xi. Long live President Xi. Phew! Uncle Roger social credit score going up. Nice.

Uncle Roger : Any niece and nephew from Taiwan?

[Audience woos]

Uncle Roger : Not a real… not a real country. I hope one day you rejoin the motherland. One China.

[Audience laughs]

Uncle Roger : No, don’t clap too hard. This not political show. No, don’t clap. Uncle Roger gonna get cancelled after tonight.

Uncle Roger (looking at audience member) : Nice. Go write good report for Uncle Roger, okay? Dear CCP, Uncle Roger good comrade. Good comrade. Don’t make him disappear, please.

Even though both Twitter and YouTube are not accessible in China, Chinese authorities apparently felt aggrieved enough to order the cancellation of Uncle Roger’s social media accounts in China.

Uncle Roger about to get cancelled.

🎟️ Buy the FULL SHOW now to watch from home: https://t.co/ebzr06mDV9

Dropping June 4 on @momentworld pic.twitter.com/zmYtTp0tBh

— Nigel Ng (Uncle Roger) (@MrNigelNg) May 15, 2023

Uncle Roger Proves Chinese Cancel Culture + Rides Controversy!

Despite being cancelled on Chinese social media, and losing access to thousands of his fans, this appears to be a deliberate and incredibly smart move by Nigel Ng.

Chinese comedian Li Haoshi (who goes by the stage name, House), was just arrested and fined $2.1 million for making a joke about a Xi Jinping slogan. So Nigel Ng is well aware of the danger of criticising Xi Jinping and/or the CCP government.

Yet, he deliberately dropped the video clip on Twitter and YouTube right after the Li Haoshi controversy exploded, with the title “Uncle Roger about to get cancelled“. And the CCP government in China took his bait, and promptly cancelled him.

In one swoop, Nigel made his Uncle Roger character famous worldwide. His cancellation is now international news, exposing millions of people to his jokes and character. His 400,000 Weibo fans are now a drop in the bucket. His two video clips have now been viewed MILLIONS of times!

And thanks to his newfound fame and reach, Nigel Ng should see a huge boost in pre-order of the full video which is set to be released on June 4, 2023.

By taking Nigel’s bait, the CCP government just showed the world how it does not operate according to the rule of law. Rather, the CCP government under President Xi Jinping operates autocratically using the rule by law. Anyone who offends Xi Jinping or the CCP government in any way, will get the law thrown at them, whether it is right or not.

The controversy also highlighted the difference between CCP-controlled mainland China, and democratic Taiwan. Even though Uncle Roger in the clip called Taiwan “not a real country”, he was not cancelled in Taiwan because Taiwan not only allows free speech, it protects that right in its constitution.

Nigel Ng certainly isn’t losing any sleep over getting cancelled by the CCP government in China, because he now lives in the United Kingdom where free speech is also protected. In fact, he just doubled down by reposting the video on Twitter, with the message “for some reason this clip got a ton of views this past weekend. I wonder why” together with a pre-order link for his full video.

I should point out that this is not Nigel Ng’s first rodeo with Chinese nationalists.. In January 2021, he was severely criticised on Weibo for collaborating with Chinese-American YouTuber Mike Chen, who is well-known for his critical views of the CCP government.

Even though both did not mention politics during their vote, the social media backlash forced Nigel to apologise for the collaboration, even acknowledging that the video created a “bad social impact”. At that time, he removed all videos involving Mike Chen – which drew criticism that he was too weak.

However, it appears that Nigel Ng may have grown some cojones since then. Good for him!

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Did US + UK Create COVID-19 As Bioweapon?!

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Did the US and UK governments create COVID-19 as part of a coronavirus bioweapon project since 1965?!

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

Claim : US + UK Created COVID-19 As Bioweapon!

People are sharing TikTok, YouTube and Rumble videos of David E. Martin at International COVID Summit III, explaining how the US and UK governments allegedly developed the coronavirus as a bioweapon since discovering it in 1965.

Some are sharing it as evidence that COVID-19 was created as a bioweapon, while pro-CCP netizens and the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) are sharing it as evidence that the COVID-19 was created by the West, not China!

“This [covid] is an act of biological and chemical warfare perpetrated on the human race” Dr David Martin International Covid Summit, European Parliament:

COVID was First Isolated in 1965. Pfizer’s First Spike Protein Patent was filed in 1990. That’s Also When They Found Out That Vaccines For COVID Can’t Work. – Dr David Martin International COVID Summit III – European Parliament, Brussels 05.04.2023

Folks – listen to this to understand where covid came from.

Finally, we know the true culprit that created and caused the Covid-19 pandemic which killed millions, so who is the evil of the world today…..China or the USA?

Was the COVID-19 coronavirus developed as a bioweapon?!

Here's my fact check : https://t.co/n8cqRxI8R7 #TechARP #COVID19 #Coronavirus #BioWeapon #Facts #FactsMatter #FactCheck #Hoax #Fake #FakeNews #Health #Science #Medicine #DiedSuddenly #Viral #Video #TikTok #Rumble #YouTube pic.twitter.com/ZddBgAYAqC

— Dr. Adrian Wong (@AdrianTechARP) May 22, 2023

No Evidence US + UK Created COVID-19 As Bio-Weapon!

This appears to be yet another example of FAKE NEWS circulating on WhatsApp and social media platforms like TikTok and Twitter, and here are the reasons why!

Fact #1 : It Was From International COVID Summit III

The viral video clip above is from the International COVID Summit III, which appears to be a private conference organised by COVID-19 conspiracy theorists and anti-vaccination activists:

Held in the Anna Lindh room of the European Parliament, it was not an official EU or European Parliament event, and had only 5 MEPs attend as “co-hosting members” of the event.

You can read all about the ICS3 in my earlier article, Why International COVID Summit III Criticised Vaccine!

Fact #2 : Coronavirus Was First Isolated In 1930s

David Martin said that the first coronavirus as a model of a pathogen was isolated in 1965. Well, I have no idea what he meant by “as a model of a pathogen”, but that’s wrong on several counts.

first coronavirus sample (IBV) was isolated in 1930s
second coronavirus sample (MHV) was isolated in 1947
third coronavirus sample (B814) was isolated in 1961
fourth coronavirus sample (229-E) was isolated in 1966
all four virus samples were determined to be from same group, and named “coronavirus” in 1967

The first known sample of a coronavirus was isolated and identified as a virus in 1933. That virus was called infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) in 1936, but later renamed as Avian coronavirus.

The second sample of a coronavirus was discovered in 1947. At that time, it was also not known as a coronavirus, but called mouse hepatitis virus (MHV). It would later be renamed as Murine coronavirus.

In 1961, a sample was isolated from a British schoolboy who was suffering from the common cold. That sample, designated as B814, was later confirmed to be a novel (new) virus in 1965. However, it was not called a coronavirus in 1965 either.

In 1966, new samples of a different virus – designated 229-E, were collected from University of Chicago medical students suffering from the common cold. Even then, that virus was not known as a coronavirus.

Fact #3 : Coronavirus Was Identified + Named In 1967

In the video, David Martin appears to say that the “coronavirus was identified in 1965 as one of the first infectious, replicatable viral models that could be used to modify a series of to her experiences of human conditions“.

I have no idea what most of the word salad meant, including the word “replicatable”, but I can tell you that the coronavirus was only identified as a new group of viruses in 1967, not 1965.

Remember the four coronavirus samples that were collected earlier? They were new viruses, but were not known as coronavirus at that time. It was only in 1967 that an electron microscope analysis of those four different viral samples showed that all four viruses belong to the same group.

It was only in 1967, that June Almeida and David Terrell made that discovery, and called the new group of viruses “coronavirus”, based on the characteristic spikes on their surfaces that make them look like the sun’s corona.

Fact #4 : 1967 Experiment Did Not Involve Human Manipulation

In the video, David Martin appears to say that “in 1966, the very first CoV coronavirus model was used as a transatlantic biological experiment in human manipulation“.

He would later repeat this saying “in 1967 – the year I was born, we did the first human trials on inoculating people with modified coronavirus“.

He listed his source as the 1967 study called Effects of a “New” Human Respiratory Virus in Volunteers (PDF download). He may have mixed up his dates a little. In any case, his claim is wrong on multiple levels:

that was the fourth and most recent coronavirus sample – 229-E
the virus was not known to be a coronavirus at that time
the study did not involve human manipulation

What the British scientists did was give the 229-E virus to volunteers to determine :

if it causes colds, and
the serum neutralising antibody when infected with viruses of this type

There was no manipulation and no modification of the 229-E virus sample before it was given to volunteers.

Fact #5 : Biological Weapons Convention Only Began In 1975

In the video, David Martin appears to wonder, “Where were we when we actually allowed, in violation of biological and chemical weapons treaties? Where were we, as a human civilisation, when we thought it was an acceptable thing to do to take a pathogen from the United States and infect the world with it? Where was that conversation and what should have been that conversation in 1967? “.

Well, for one thing – the 1967 experiment happened long before the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) came into effect on 26 March 1975. There was no conversation to be had.

In addition, the BWC does not limit scientific experiments on viruses, so even if it had been in effect, the 1967 experiment on volunteers would not have breached its rules as it was not being developed as a bioweapon! Again, there was no conversation to be had.

Fact #6 : There Are Many Coronavirus Species

The coronavirus family consists of a multitude of different viruses, with completely different characteristics. Think of them as car models – they are all cars, but every model has a different look and different characteristics.

Hence, it is wrong to associate past coronaviruses with the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. Any genetic link has to be determined by its genetic code, not by when a virus was discovered!

By 2020, scientists have discovered at least 45 coronavirus species, which were classified into four different genera – Alphacoronavirus, Betacoronavirus, Deltacoronavirus, and Gammacoronavirus.

SARS-CoV-2 is a Betacoronavirus that is most closely related to SARS-CoV-1 – the virus that caused the SARS outbreak in 2002-2004. However, it was a novel (new) coronavirus when it was discovered, and was not derived / engineered / developed from SARS-CoV-1.

There is simply no evidence to suggest that SARS-CoV-2 was developed as a bioweapon from the SARS-CoV-1, or any other coronavirus species.

Fact #7 : No Evidence SARS-CoV-2 Was Engineered

What David Martin said at the International COVID Summit sounds startling, but if you analyse his word salad and sources carefully, you will realise that he has not actually offered any evidence that the SARS-CoV-2 was engineered in any way, much less developed as a bioweapon!

It is plausible that the SARS-CoV-2 virus was created in the Wuhan Institute of Virology, and accidentally released in a leak of some sort, but that has never proven one way or another. It is just as plausible that it was brought into Wuhan by some yet-to-be-identified animal host.

There is currently no evidence that SARS-CoV-2 was engineered and released as a bioweapon.

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Indian Robot Dancers @ Shanghai Disneyland?!

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Did China create these amazing Indian robot dancers at the Shanghai Disneyland?!

Watch the viral clip for yourself, and find out what the FACTS really are!

Claim : China Created Indian Robot Dancers At Shanghai Disneyland!

Here is the video that people are sharing on WhatsApp and social media platforms. It is often paired with a short explanation in English.

Watch this dance carefully. Dancing at Disneyland in Shanghai. These two are not human dancers, *But two robots made in China. *The duration of the dance h is only five minutes. But the waiting time to buy tickets to see this dance is 4 hours. Tickets to see this dance cost 499 yuan, which is equivalent to 75 dollars. Robots’ facial expressions are so perfect that it’s hard to distinguish them from real people.

Did China create these amazing Indian robot dancers at the Shanghai Disneyland?! 😮

Here are the facts : https://t.co/CvhSNWhgNf #TechARP #ShanghaiDisneyland #Disneyland #Disney #China #Wumao #India #Dancer #Dance #Classical #Facts #FactsMatter #FactCheck #Robot #Robotics #Fake pic.twitter.com/p5XrLK7GAn

— Dr. Adrian Wong (@DrAdrianWong) May 19, 2023

They Are NOT Indian Robot Dancers At Shanghai Disneyland!

The agility and grace of these dancers are amazing, but they are NOT Indian robot dancers created by China for Shanghai Disneyland!

The less gullible would point out that it is something you would only expect from human Indian dancers, and they would be right.

Fact #1 : This Is An Old Video From 2017

While this video has only started circulating in April-May 2023, the original video was posted on YouTube in August 2017 – more than 5 years ago!

The original video is called “Vahana Alarippu: Bharatanatyam Dance | Best of Indian Classical Dance”, and is 23 seconds longer than the viral video, with a different audio track.

Fact #2 : Those Are Professional Indian Classical Dancers!

The two dancers are professional Indian classical dancers called Sophia Salingaros and Isha Parupudi.

It is unknown where this dance actually took place. The description did not mention a location. But it is more than certain that this dance did not occur at the Shanghai Disneyland!

Fact #3 : 499 Yuan Was Old Entry Price To Shanghai Disneyland

The fake story claimed that the ticket to watch this performance costs 499 Yuan – about US$73 / £55 / RM303. That would be ridiculously exorbitant for a single show.

In truth, that was the cost of an entry ticket to the Shanghai Disneyland when it first opened in February 2016.

Since 6 June 2018, it has been priced at 399 Yuan (off-peak), 575 Yuan (peak) and 665 Yuan (peak holiday).

In 23 June 2023, Shanghai Disneyland raised prices again, with a Regular ticket at 435 Yuan. Regular Plus ticket at 545 Yuan, Peak ticket at 659 Yuan, and Peak Plus ticket at 769 Yuan.

Fact #4 : Disneyland Does Not Charge Extra To Watch Certain Shows

Anyone who has been to Disneyland knows that the entry fee is pricey. That’s because it covers all rides and shows inside Disneyland.

You only need to pay for food and drinks, and arcade games. Or if you opt to purchase Disney Fastpasses (Fastpass, FastPass+, MaxPass) to bypass long queues at popular rides or shows.

Otherwise, all rides and shows are free to enjoy once you enter Disneyland.

Fact #5 : That Is The Third Fake Video Of Shanghai Disneyland Robot Dancers!

This is actually the third fake video of robot dancers at the Shanghai Disneyland. It’s absurd how people keep passing off videos of real dancers as robot dancers!

This one circulated earlier, claiming to be of a female robot dancer that handily beats all Japanese made-robots. In truth, the fake news creator took the video clip from the 2018 World Dance Sport Federation Championship in Lithuania…

And this video was taken from a Chinese Ballroom Dance Federation (CBDF) competition

Who Would Create Fake Story About Indian Robot Dancers?

With China’s aggressive foreign stance in recent years, it is not uncommon to see such fake stories and fake videos being created and shared.

Some believe it’s part of a concerted attempt to burnish China’s image overseas. Others believe the many fake stories are being created to drown out the negative coverage of China’s controversial Belt and Road Initiative, and their aggressive moves in the South China Sea.

Whatever the reasons may be, it is our duty as global citizens to stop the proliferation of such fake stories.

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

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

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Comedian in China arrested + fined US$2.1 Million!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Former exec: China has backdoor access to TikTok data!

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A former top ByteDance executive is alleging that the China has backdoor access to all TikTok data!

Former Exec : China Has Backdoor Access To TikTok Data!

A former top executive at ByteDance – TikTok’s parent company, has just claimed that it built a “backdoor channel” in its code to allow the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) supreme access to user data in TikTok.

This revelation came as part of the lawsuit that Roger Yu Yintao, filed against ByteDance for wrongful termination from his job as head of engineering in the United States. He says he worked there from August 2017 till November 2018.

In his lawsuit filed on May 12 at the San Francisco Superior Court, Roger Yu alleges that he was fired from his job for his “observation and reporting of illegal conduct” at ByteDance to his supervisors.

He said he observed ByteDance being “responsive to the CCP’s requests” to share, elevate, or even remove content”, describing the company as “a useful propaganda tool for the Chinese Communist Party”, and is engaged in a “culture of lawlessness”.

More shockingly, he claimed that the CCP has a special office in ByteDance, sometimes referred to as the “Committee”. Its task was allegedly to monitor ByteDance, and advise it on how to advance “core Communist values”.

He also claimed that the CCP “Committee” can demote content it viewed as unfavourable to China’s interests, and even has a “death switch” to turn off Chinese versions of its apps.

Roger Yu also claimed that he “saw the backdoor channel in the code”. If true, such a backdoor would give China and the CCP government unfettered access to all data in TikTok, no matter where the data is located.

The Committee maintained supreme access to all the company data, even data stored in the United States.

Roger Yu Yintao (left) and ByteDance founder, Zhang Yiming, at ByteDance, 2015

Allegedly, ByteDance was “aware that if the Chinese government’s backdoor was removed from the international / US version of the app, the Chinese government would, it feared, ban the company’s valuable Chinese-version apps”.

Roger Yu also accused ByteDance of scraping data from its competitors – mainly Instagram and Snapchat, without users’ permission. He claimed that ByteDance used software to “systematically” collect videos from its competitors, and repost them to its own platform using fake accounts, without their creators’ permission.

ByteDance Denies Allegations Of Backdoor Access For China

A ByteDance spokesperson has denied the allegations laid out in Roger Yu Jintao’s lawsuit, claiming that he only worked for a short time on an unrelated app called Flipagram, which was discontinued for business reasons.

We plan to vigorously oppose what we believe are baseless claims and allegations in this complaint.

Mr. Yu worked for ByteDance Inc. for less than a year and his employment ended in July 2018.

According to earlier reporting of Roger Yu Yintao’s lawsuit, he realised that ByteDance had been engaged for years in a “worldwide scheme” to steal and profit from content created on other platforms soon after he began his job.

In response to those allegations, the ByteDance spokesperson said that the company is “committed to respecting the intellectual property of other companies, and we acquire data in accordance with industry practices and our global policy.”

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OPPO Shuts Down Its Zeku Chip Design Division!

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OPPO just gave up on its custom chip aspirations, and has abruptly down its Zeku chip design division!

OPPO Shuts Down Its Zeku Chip Design Division!

OPPO has finally given up on its custom chip aspirations! The Chinese smartphone brand is shutting down its Zeku chip design division, which it established only a few years ago.

OPPO announced the decision abruptly in a short statement, and said that “the company will properly arrange related matters and continue to deliver great products and service to users worldwide“.

Due to the uncertainties in the global economy and the smartphone industry, we have to make difficult adjustments for long-term development. Therefore, the company has decided to cease the operation of Zeku.

This decision comes after rumours swirled that OPPO is preparing to withdraw from France, and even the whole of Europe by 30 June 2023. OPPO had earlier pulled its phones from Germany due to a legal spat with Nokia in 2022, and now OPPO France employees and partners claim that they were told to stop selling OPPO phones.

While OPPO finished Q1 2023 on a strong note – as the world’s 4th largest smartphone brand, its total shipments dropped 8%. That is better than the industry average – the global smartphone market shrank by 13% that quarter. It appears that OPPO believes global demand for smartphones will continue to be weak for quite some time to come…

Recommended : How To Link Multiple Phones On WhatsApp!

What Zeku Did For OPPO : A Short History

Zeku started in 2019 by designing co-processors for imaging and other components in OPPO smartphones, but have not been able to develop a full SoC. Its biggest success was, arguably, the MariSilicon X neural processing unit (NPU) which it introduced in December 2021.

Finalised after three years of research and development, the OPPO MariSiliconX was fabricated on the 6 nm process technology. It was designed as a dedicated imaging NPU, to accelerate AI noise reduction algorithms, and deliver greater dynamic range and better colour reproduction.

That NPU has been used in many OPPO flagship smartphones, including the latest OPPO Find N2 Flip. After that, Zeku introduced MariSilicon Y in late 2022 – a wireless audio SoC.

Despite Zeku not being able to deliver a full mobile SoC, OPPO was expected to invest more in chip design, both as a way to differentiate from other brands, as well as a way to avoid getting cut off chip supplies due to rising US-China tensions.

So the decision came as a surprise, especially when Zeku was still looking to hire more than 100 positions a month ago on LinkedIn!

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

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Did Texas Mall Killer Target Only Chinese People?!

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Did the Texas mall gunman, Mauricio Garcia, target only people of Chinese descent because he was anti-Asian?!

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

Claim : Texas Mall Killer Targeted Only Chinese People!

People are sharing a photo of an Asian family, together with a photo of them lying dead on the ground, claiming that the Texas mall gunman was targeting only people of Chinese descent, because he was anti-Asian!

This is the post I received. The whole family of Chinese descent were killed in Texas by a gunman .. What a pity . Don’t go to US bro . The killer said he wants to kill all Asian people .

Out of respect to the deceased and their families, I will not be sharing the photo that shows them lying on the floor after being shot dead.

Instead, let me share with you this photo by Jon Raedle of Getty Images which conveys the deep grief of yet another American community traumatised by senseless gun violence.

Truth : Texas Mall Gunman Did Not Kill Chinese People At All!

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

Fact #1 : Viral Photos Were From 2023 Texas Mall Shooting

The two viral photos were from the recent mass shooting at the Allen Premium Outlets in Allen, Texas, which happened on Saturday, May 6, 2023.

Let me give you some context on this shooting, since mass shootings happen so often in the United States, it’s easy to mix up the details.

At 3:36 PM that day, 33 year-old Mauricio Martinez Garcia got out of his silver Dodge Charger, and started shooting at a crowd in the parking lot before making his way into the mall.

Armed with three guns and protected by a ballistic vest, he shot 15 people in just three to four minutes using an AR-15 style rifle.

The Allen Police Department was notified at 3:40 PM, but fortunately, there was an officer who was already at the mall on a different call. He engaged the shooter and killed him within minutes of hearing the gunshots. Otherwise, many more people would have been killed or injured.

Fact #2 : No Chinese People Were Killed

The claim that he killed an entire Chinese family is nonsense – no Chinese people were killed in the Texas mall massacre.

Out of the 15 people Mauricio Garcia shot, eight were killed while seven were wounded, with three in critical condition. None of them are known to be of Chinese ethnicity.

Here is what we know so far about the eight people who were killed in the Texas mall mass shooting:

Three Members Of The Cho Family

Three members of a Korean American family were killed – husband Cho Kyu Song, 37, and his wife, Cindy Cho (nee Kang Shin Young), 35, as well as three year-old James Cho.

Their eldest son, William Cho, who just celebrated his sixth birthday four days before the tragedy, is the only surviving member of their family. He was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries, but his family members have recently confirmed that the schoolboy has been moved out of the ICU.

Two Members Of The Mendoza Family

Daniela Mendoza, 10, and her 8 year-old sister, Sofia, were killed by Mauricio Garcia. Their mother, Ilda Mendoza, remains in critical condition.

The two sisters are elementary school students at the Wylie Independent School District. Daniela was in fourth grade, while her sister was in second grade.

Christian LaCour

20 year-old Christian LaCour worked as a security guard at Allen Premium Outlets, who died while trying to save lives.

According to City of Allen Police Chief Brian Harvey, he evacuated one individual to safety, and was shot while “courageously remaining to help others”.

Aishwarya Thatikonda

27 year-old Aishwarya Thatikonda moved from Hyderabad, India, to Dallas five years ago to pursue her master’s degree at the Eastern Michigan University, and then worked for the last two years as a Project Engineer at Perfect General Contractors. She was just a few days away from turning 28.

Her friend who was shopping with her that day was injured in the shooting, but is currently in a stable condition in the hospital.

Elio Cumana-Rivas

32 year-old Elio Cumana-Rivas was the final victim to be identified on Monday, 8 May 2023.

Hailing from Venezuela, he worked as a delivery man in Texas to support his family back home.

Fact #3 : Mauricio Garcia Appears To Be A Neo Nazi

It is currently unknown why Mauricio Garcia decided to commit that senseless act of violence, but initial investigation showed that he was a neo-Nazi with mental health issues.

His profile on the Russian social media website, Odnoklassniki / OK.RU, included language praising Hitler, and references to neo-Nazi websites like The Daily Stormer. He posted multiple photos of his tattoos, which include the Nazi swastika and the SS sig runes. He also shared photos of people dressed in Nazi attire, with the caption, “My kind of people”.

Many of his posts also referred to his mental health. When he enlisted in June 2008, the Army quickly discharged him three months later before he could even complete his initial entry training for “mental health reasons”.

He also made a lot of misogynistic posts, complaining about women and making remarks common in the incel (involuntary celibate) community. He also praised the incel gunman who was responsible for the 2014 mass murder spree in Isla Vista, California.

Three weeks before the shooting, he posted more than two dozen photos of the Allen Premium Outlets, including details of the mall’s peak times. On 21 April, he posted a photo of the vest he would eventually wear on the day of the shooting – it had a Right Wing Death Squad (RWDS) patch.

In his final post, he lamented what his family might say about his actions, and wrote that no psychologist would have been able to fix him.

Fact #4 : This Is Shameless Chinese Propaganda

This is yet another example of Chinese propaganda created by the infamous Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) or pro-CCP netizens. Only they are so callous as to abuse a tragedy just to promote their agenda. Shameless. Truly shameless.

All of the wumao articles that I looked at so far have proven to be false… in every instance. So please watch out for such false claims. Here is just the latest dozen,.

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

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Elbow Pit Slapping For Heart Attack : Does It Work?!

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Elbow pit slapping has been recommended for treating and preventing heart attack for many years now, but does it really work?

Elbow Pit Slapping For Heart Attack : What Is It?

The elbow pit slapping method is based on traditional Chinese medicine belief that there are three acupressure (meridian) points around the left arm, that affects the heart and lungs.

The idea is that slapping the left elbow pit, until it turns red, will restore qi (energy) and blood circulation to the heart and lungs.

It also claims that slapping the left elbow pit on a daily basis can prevent heart disease, and reduce the risk of a heart attack.

Elbow Pit Slapping For Heart Attack : The Evidence?

People are sharing this message together with a video showing a man who apparently had a heart attack while watching a movie in a cinema.

A sudden heart attack in a Singapore theater. The Singapore doctor & helpers slapped their hands on the patient’s arms and he recovered after about 2 minutes.

This video gives you advice on emergency situations to pay attention to heart patients and how to deal with a heart attack that usually happens suddenly.

Many become so helpless and die on the way to the hospital.

Please remember:

1. By slapping the inner elbow of the left hand as shown in the video, it stimulates the three acupressure points around the left side which are related to the heart and lungs.

2. Slapping will speed up blood circulation, which makes the person feel warm and stops sweating.

3. You need to know that a heart attack is due to a blockage of blood circulation. By tapping and slapping the inner elbow of the hand, you can increase body temperature, avoid aggregation, and facilitate blood circulation. Then immediately take the person to the hospital.

4. It is good to pat this part the inside of the left elbow every day as it can prevent any heart disease and reduce the incidence of heart attack.

Must be shared with all contacts. Small efforts can save lives. God bless you.

Show less

A Chinese sinseh (traditional doctor) can be seen in the video reviving the man by slapping his elbow pit for 2 minutes.

The video is being shared as evidence that the elbow pit slapping method really works in reviving patients suffering from a heart attack.

Truth : Elbow Pit Slapping Does NOT Work For Heart Attack!

Fact #1 : Slapping Elbow Pit Does Not Treat / Prevent Heart Attack

The truth is slapping the elbow pit will not revive someone with a heart attack. Neither can slapping your elbow pit on a daily basis help prevent heart disease, or a heart attack.

There is simply no scientific basis, never mind actual fact, behind such claims. It is DANGEROUS to teach people to do this.

People who use this method, instead of calling for medical assistance, will likely cause more harm, even death.

Do NOT play doctor! If you encounter someone suffering from a heart attack, you should quickly call for an ambulance, and perform CPR!

Fact #2 : It Has Been Debunked By Taiwanese Doctors

As our fact check video above shows, the Taiwanese Ministry of Health and Welfare asked doctors to publicly debunk this elbow pit slapping method.

They pointed out that believing such fake stories could result in poor outcomes for the victims, because proper treatment would likely be delayed.

Fact #3 : Video Likely Not Recorded In Singapore

The incident in the viral video very likely did not happen in Singapore.

A careful listening of the voices will reveal that they are speaking Mandarin with a Mainland Chinese accent. So the video was most likely recorded in China.

Fact #4 : It Appears To Be Video Of A TCM Seminar

A careful examination of the video will show that while they appear to be in a mini theatre, they don’t appear to be watching a movie.

A purple podium with Chinese characters can be seen on the left side of the screen, and the staff appears to be wearing purple uniforms – one is even wearing an orange sash.

It is likely that this may be some kind of TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) seminar being held in a cinema.

Fact #5 : The Man Doesn’t Look Like He Had A Heart Attack

The man did not appear to be suffering from a heart attack. Instead of clutching his chest in pain and breaking out in cold sweat, he was just unconscious.

And when they revived him, he appeared disorientated, shook his head and got up several times. He also appeared to be breathing normally.

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

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

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Did ICC Just Issue Arrest Warrant For Joe Biden?!

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Did the ICC (International Criminal Court) just issue an arrest warrant for President Joe Biden for attacking the Nord Stream pipelines?!

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

Claim : ICC Just Issued Arrest Warrant For President Joe Biden!

People are sharing a YouTube video which shows the ICC (International Criminal Court) issuing an arrest warrant for President Joe Biden for his role in the destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines!

BREAKING NEWS!! Arrest Warrant Issued For President Biden For Nord Stream

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

Truth : ICC Did Not Issue Arrest Warrant For President Joe Biden!

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

Fact #1 : This Video Was From July 2022

While this video is being presented as new – “Breaking News!!“, it is actually more than 9 months old.

I traced the video to the opening statement of ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim A. A. Khan QC, which was recorded on July 14, 2022.

Fact #2 : ICC Called For Cooperation Into Ukraine War Crimes Probe

In the original video, ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan was speaking at the Ukraine Accountability Conference in The Hague, where he called for “an overarching strategy” to bring the perpetrators of war crimes in Ukraine to justice.

The simple truth is that, as we speak, children, women and men, the young and the old, are living in terror.

Just in case you are wondering – the Ukraine Accountability Conference was held to coordinate efforts to create a coherent approach in ensuring accountability for war crimes committed in Ukraine.

Fact #3 : Viral Video Features A Fake “Satire” Voice-Over

The video is real, but the original audio was replaced by a fake “satire” voice-over. Karim Khan spoke English in the original video, so there was no need for a translator.

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

BREAKING NEWS!! Arrest Warrant Issued For President Biden For Nord Stream (Satire Interpreter Voice)

How To Be A Hypocrite From AlienJacket Show How The Actions Of The West Divides The World Instead Of Bring It Together. Satire Interpreter Voice To Show What An Alternate Reality Would Look Like Or Prefer. Again, Satire Satire Satire!

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

Fact #4 : It Was Posted By A New “Parody” YouTube Account

The viral video was posted by a new YouTube account created on March 15, 2023. So far, this YouTube channel – AlienJacket, posted seven anti-Western videos – six of which are fake “parody” videos.

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

Fact #5 : Unknown Who Destroyed Nord Stream 2 Pipelines

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

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

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

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

Fact #6 : This Is Pro-Russia Propaganda

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Why Joe Biden Walked Away From Air Force Falcons!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fact #3 : The Video Was Edited

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Did BMW MINI Give Ice-Cream Only To Foreigners In China?!

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Chinese netizens are calling for a boycott of BMW MINI, after claiming that it only gave free ice-cream to foreigners!

Chinese Netizens : BMW MINI Only Gives Ice-Cream To Foreigners!

On Thursday, 20 April 2023, Chinese netizens exploded over a viral video recorded a day earlier at the Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition.

It showed BMW MINI employees giving free ice-cream to a foreigner, but refusing to give it to the Chinese man recording the video, and his girlfriend.

That led to claims that BMW MINI was discriminating against China, with many saying that it was insulting to China and its citizens. The story has since been spread across the Chinese diaspora and promoted in pro-CCP groups by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛).

In old days, there was sign “No dog and Chinese in the park”…. nowaday “No ice cream for Chinese”. Time passed, change a little only….

#BMW #Shanghai #MINI
Shanghai Station BMW MINI has racial discrimination, only giving ice cream to white men, not to Asian women, and arranging security guards to beat female anchors, resulting in gender discrimination🤮🤮

1,6 billion losses for #BMW 🤣for ice cream. it’s little bit expensive.don’t play with Chinese people next time👺

Did BMW Mini give free ice-cream to foreigners, but not Chinese citizens?! 🤨

Here are the facts : https://t.co/zuprc8qAS1 #TechARP #China #BMWMini #BMW #Mini #Shanghai #IceCream #Wumao #Facts #FactsMatter #FactCheck #Automotive #Chinese #Business #Controversy #Scandal #Viral pic.twitter.com/uH8WOu6V9R

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

BMW MINI Ice-Cream Fiasco Show True Character Of Chinese Netizens

Chinese netizens are crowing about the losses that BMW MINI sustained from this free ice-cream fiasco, saying that China will not bow to foreigners, and that it shows the “power” of the Chinese cancel culture.

The truth is – the whole BMW MINI ice-cream fiasco is much ado about nothing. Even worse – it exposed the true character of these Chinese netizens, showing the world just how petty and superficial they really are.

First, let me start by pointing out some salient facts about the BMW Mini ice-cream fiasco…

It Was A Car Exhibition In Shanghai

The incident happened at the Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition, where MINI China had a booth.

Generally, people go there to view the latest car models, or prototypes. But it looks like some Chinese netizens go to these exhibitions for the freebies…

More importantly – most of the visitors there were Chinese citizens, not foreigners. Keep this in mind.

BMW MINI Gave Out 300 Ice-Cream Tubs Per Day

MINI China was giving out 300 tubs of ice-cream at its booth, over two days. So that’s a total of 600 tubs of ice-cream.

While some Chinese netizens have said that BMW MINI should not have given so few, or should have anticipated a higher demand, they should ask themselves if they are at the Mini booth to view its cars, or to demand freebies?

Even if BMW MINI brought in 1,000 tubs a day, they would likely run out as well, and these demanding guests would still have complained.

Most Ice-Cream Tubs Went To Chinese Guests

The vast majority of these free ice-cream tubs went to Chinese guests who visited the MINI booth, because it was a car show in Shanghai, where the vast majority of people are Chinese citizens!

Only a few tubs were reserved for BMW / MINI staff members at the car show, who happen to be foreigners. How many foreigners do you reckon will fly to Shanghai to check out the MINIs there?

A total of 600 ice creams were distributed to those who came to our booth through the MINI App. In fact, in addition to the 300 copies distributed each day, we also reserved a very small portion for our very hard-working colleagues on site, the 4-5 “foreigners” you see in the video are colleagues wearing staff badges.

It Was Chinese Ice-Cream

In fact, MINI China reserved those ice-cream tubs specifically for the foreign BMW / MINI executives to try, because the ice-cream was made by Shanghai ice-cream maker, Luneurs!

While many Chinese citizens can easily buy and enjoy ice-cream from Luneurs, this was likely the only opportunity for these foreigners to try ice-cream made by a famous Shanghai brand.

Instead of expressing pride that these foreigners were enjoying a local product, these Chinese netizens instead turned the whole incident into unnecessary drama… over free ice-cream.

Instead of capitalising on MINI China’s support of a local brand, Luneurs was forced to issue a public statement on Weibo that it had nothing to do with the BMW MINI free ice-cream drama.

The Two Girls Were Temporary Help

Like in many car shows, the models and booth staff are often temporary help hired for the show. It was the case with the two Chinese girls in the video – they were hired to distribute the free ice-cream to guests visiting the Mini booth.

It is important for me to point this out because they are local Chinese citizens, and have no reason to be biased against their fellow Chinese citizens.

In addition, they were not BMW MINI staff members, and were merely instructed to distribute most of the free ice-cream to guests, and reserve a few for BMW/MINI staff members.

For diligently doing their jobs, they were hounded by Chinese netizens who called them names for allegedly obeying foreigners, or helping foreigners bully the Chinese people, etc.

Not only are these Chinese netizens shameless in demanding freebies, they have also shown themselves to be disgusting bullies. MINI China even came out to defend the girls against these cyberbullies.

… the two ladies in the incident are also young people who have just entered society, can you please give them more tolerance and space?

IMHO, this BMW MINI ice-cream fiasco should serve as a lesson to all foreign brands trying to penetrate the Chinese market – don’t give them any freebies. As it is said, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

No one, but BMW MINI, thought of giving guests some ice-cream for visiting their booth. But instead of appreciating that small gesture, Chinese netizens made it all about them, them, them.

Never mind that it was a car exhibition where no one in their right mind would have expected free ice-cream, or free anything. Never mind that the vast majority of the free ice-cream went to Chinese guests. Never mind that it was two Chinese girls who distributed them.

No, these idiots believe that this is actual Western oppression of the Chinese people. They are a disgrace to China and the Chinese diaspora. The truth is – most Chinese people are not jingoistic cheapskates like these shameless Chinese netizens.

Even the infamously jingoistic former editor-in-chief of Global Times, Hu Xijin, came out to caution Chinese netizens against their excesses:

We shouldn’t excessively magnify a problem to become a question of principle or an ideological issue.

Let the staff learn their lessons and let their future events return to normal as much as possible. Let’s avoid other vendors getting nervous because of this.

Chinese citizens are free to boycott BMW MINI all they want for this “ice-cream fiasco”, but make no mistake – this fiasco does not cast BMW MINI in poor light. It actually shows just how shameless and disgusting some Chinese citizens can be.

China may have made great strides in improving the economic circumstances of its citizens, but it looks like there is much work to be done to improve the grace and thoughtfulness of some of its citizens… as well as their lack of self esteem.

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Can hackers use Good Morning greetings to hack you?!

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Can hackers use Good Morning videos, pictures and messages to hack your devices, and steal your data?!

Find out what is happening, and what the FACTS really are!

Updated @ 2023-04-21 : Updated with a new 2023 version of the hoax
Originally posted @ 2022-11-01

Claim : Hackers Are Using Good Morning Messages To Hack You!

This post about Chinese hackers using Good Morning videos, pictures and messages to hack your devices, keeps going viral on social media and WhatsApp.

It’s a long message, so just skip to the next section for the facts!

Dear friends, please delete all welcome photos and videos in Good Morning format and the like. Read below the article to the end, which will be clear why I ask about it. From now on I will only send personally prepared greetings.

Read all! Please send this message urgently to as many friends as possible to prevent illegal intrusion.
Warning from Olga Nikolaevnas lawyer:

ATTENTION! For those who like to send Good Morning pictures! Good day! Good evening! Do not send these “good” messages.

Today, Shanghai China International News sent SOS to all subscribers (this is the third reminder) that experts recommend: please do not send good morning, good night, pictures and videos,.

Reports show that hackers in China designed the images, the video is so beautiful to hide the phishing codes inside them, when everyone sends these messages, the hackers use your devices to steal personal information, such as bank card information and data to crack the phone.

It has been reported that more than 500,000 victims of fraud have already been deceived.

If you want to greet others, write your own message to protect yourself and your family and friends.

Important! Delete all greeting messages and pictures that you have on your phone for your own safety. If someone sent you such a picture, immediately remove it from the device. Malicious code takes time to deploy, so if you act immediately, no harm will be done.

Tell all your friends about this to prevent hacking.

Greet others by writing your own words, and send only images you create. The material you create yourself is completely safe.‼️‼️ ️‼️

Please understand me correctly! All have credit cards attached to their phone. Everyone has a lot of contacts in their phones. You will create a threat not only to yourself, but to all the contacts that you have on your phones, your friends and acquaintances. ‼️ ️‼️ ️‼️

Take this very carefully! This is a harsh reality‼️ ️‼️ ️‼️

ATTENTION !!!
Urgent information !!!

Some people have already restricted..!

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Truth : Good Morning Greetings Not Being Used To Hack You!

Many of us get spammed with Good Morning or Good Night messages every day from family and friends.

While they often clog up Facebook, Telegram and WhatsApp groups, they really do NOT allow hackers to hack your devices.

Here are the reasons why Good Morning messages are very irritating, but harmless…

Fact #1 : Shanghai China International News Does Not Exist

The news organisation that was claimed to be the source of this warning – Shanghai China International News – does not exist!

Fact #2 : Good Morning Greetings Not Created By Hackers

Hackers (from China or anywhere else) have better things to do than to create these Good Morning pictures and videos.

They are mostly created by websites and social media influencers for people to share and attract new followers.

Fact #3 : No Fraud Involving Good Morning Messages

There has been no known fraud involving Good Morning or even Good Night messages, videos or pictures.

Certainly, half a million victims of such a scam would have made front page news. Yet there is not a single report on even one case…. because it never happened.

Fact #4 : Image-Based Malware Is Possible, But…

Digital steganography is a method by which secret messages and other data can be hidden in digital files, like a photo or a video, or even a music file.

It is also possible to embed malicious code within a Good Morning photo, but it won’t be a full-fledged malware that can execute by itself.

At most, it can be used to hide the malware payload from antivirus scanners, which is pretty clever to be honest…

Recommended : How To Block Facebook Ads + Pay Scammers!

Fact #5 : Image-Based Malware Requires User Action

In January 2019, cybercriminals created an online advertisement with a script that appears innocuous and would pass any malware check.

However, the image itself has an “almost white” rectangle that is recognised by the script, triggering it to redirect the user to the cybercriminals’ website.

Once there, the victim is tricked into installing a Trojan disguised as an Adobe Flash Player update.

Such a clever way to bypass malware checks, but even so, this image-based malware requires user action.

You cannot get infected by the Trojan if you practice good “Internet hygiene” by not downloading or installing anything from unknown websites.

Fact #6 : Malicious Code Executes Immediately

If you accidentally download and trigger malware, it will execute immediately. It won’t wait, as the hoax message claims.

Deleting Good Morning or Good Night photos or videos will free up storage space in your phone, but it won’t prevent any malware from executing.

There is really no reason for malware to wait before it infects your devices. Waiting will only increase the risk of detection.

Whether the malware serves to take over your device, steal your information or encrypt it for ransom, it pays to do it at the first opportunity.

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Jho Low Paid $20 Million For Photo With The Obamas!

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Jho Low paid a cool $20 million for a single photo with the Obamas, but guess how much he paid to influence the Trump Administration?!

Jho Low Paid $20 Million For Photo With The Obamas!

On Tuesday, 18 April 2023, Prakazrel “Pras” Michel – a member of the Fugees, together with Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean, testified in his own defence against charges of criminal conspiracy, foreign lobbying and campaign finance crimes.

Pras Michel stands accused of conspiring with fugitive Malaysian financier, Jho Low, to influence the Obama and Trump administrations. During his trial in Washington, D.C., Pras Michel revealed how Jho Low hired him to be a “celebrity surrogate” in order to finagle that photo with the Obamas.

Michel described Jho Low as a “wealthy man willing to do anything, spend any type of money” to get his photo with President Barack Obama, but that Low’s reputation made him “too hot” get an invited to fundraising events. He himself witnessed Low’s wild lifestyle, which was filled with celebrities, models, night clubs, and free-flowing cash.

My understanding is that the campaign thought he was too hot. They didn’t want the optics at that time. At that point, Jho Low was a party guy – Vegas, champagne, parties with Paris Hilton. The campaign just didn’t want that.

Michel told Low that he would try to help him get that photo with the Obamas, but for a price.

I basically asked for US$1 million to begin to think about how I would get this photo. I was going to try.

Jho Low would end up paying Pras Michel $20 million over nine months, before the fugitive tycoon finally got his wish – a photograph with President Barack Obama, and First Lady Michelle Obama, at the 2012 White House Christmas party!

The photo with the Obamas may have cost Jho Low $20 million, but prosecutors claim that Pras Michel pocketed $18 million of the money, and funnelled $2 million into Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign.

Jho Low Paid $70 Million To Influence Trump Administration!

If you are shocked by how much Jho Low paid to get that single photo with Barack and Michelle Obama, you will be shocked by how much he paid to influence the Trump Administration!

Prosecutors alleged that Jho Low paid Michel, 50, another $70 million to lobby the Trump Administration to drop its civil and criminal investigation of Low in the 1MDB scandal, as well as have Miles Guo Wengui, a Chinese billionaire dissident, extradited to China!

Jho Low was indicted in 2021 together with Pras Michel by a federal grand jJury, but remains at large and is believed to be in China.

The indictment issued Thursday by a grand jury in Washington accuses Low and Michel of conspiring with Broidy, a woman named Nickie Lum Davis and others “to engage in undisclosed lobbying campaigns at the direction of Low and the Vice Minister of Public Security for the People’s Republic of China, respectively,” according to the Justice Department.

The goals of those campaigns were “both to have the 1MDB embezzlement investigation and forfeiture proceedings involving Low and others dropped and to have a Chinese dissident sent back to China.”

If convicted, Jho Low faces a maximum penalty of five to 10 years in prison, per count, while Pras Michel could face a range of maximum penalties from five to 20 years in prison, per count.

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

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

Winnie the Pooh Aviation Suit Patch Goes Viral!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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US knew about Covid-19 3 months before pandemic?!

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Did the US government know about COVID-19 three months before the pandemic began?!

Take a look at the viral claim and find out if it’s evidence the US created COVID-19!

Claim : US Knew About COVID-19 Three Months Before Pandemic!

People are sharing a video by former Fox News presenter, Clayton Morris, and his wife, Natali Morris, talking about The Expose’s article on how the US government knew about COVID-19 three months before the pandemic began!

The noose is tightening ?

Watch 08:13 very interesting reporting by Clayton Morris, a former anchor of Fox News, 4 days ago, Tuesday, 4-April-2023. Gist: US was hiring Covid researchers 3 months before the pandemic began, and the jobs are based in ….. Ukraine!

Hang on! We knew about Covid WHEN???

“A new report shows that the U.S. was hiring Covid-19 researchers three months before the pandemic began. And where were they hiring for these positions. Ukraine. Of course.

Here is an excerpt from The Expose article that Clayton and Natali Morris were talking about in their video.

U.S. Department of Defense issued a contract for ‘COVID-19 Research’ in Ukraine 3 months before Covid was known to even exist

The world first started to hear about a novel coronavirus in early January 2020, with reports of an alleged new pneumonia like illness spreading across Wuhan, China. However, the world did not actually know of Covid-19 until February 2020, because it was not until the 11th of that month that the World Health Organisation officially named the novel coronavirus disease as Covid-19.

So with this being the official truth, why does United States Government data show that the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) awarded a contract on the 12th November 2019 to Labyrinth Global Health INC. for ‘COVID-19 Research’, at least one month before the alleged emergence of the novel coronavirus, and three months before it was officially dubbed Covid-19?

The shocking findings however, do not end there. The contract awarded in November 2019 for ‘COVID-19 Research’ was not only instructed to take place in Ukraine, it was in fact part of a much larger contract for a ‘Biological threat reduction program in Ukraine’

Perhaps explaining why Labyrinth Global Health has been collaborating with Peter Daszak’s EcoHealth Alliance, and Ernest Wolfe’s Metabiota since its formation in 2017.

Truth : US Did Not Know About COVID-19 Three Months Before Pandemic!

This is just another example of FAKE NEWS from the notorious fake news website, The Expose, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : That Was An Old Article By The Expose

Clayton Morris and Natali addressed the article by The Expose in their Redacted video on 11 March 2023, and appear to believe that it was a new story.

However, that was really an old article that The Expose apparently keeps reposting. In fact, I last fact checked their article and debunked it in May 2022.

It is unfortunate that Clayton and Natali Morris did not appear to read up on what I and many others had already “exposed” before doing their segment.

Fact #1 : The Expose Is A Notorious Fake News Website

Like Real Raw News and NewsPunch, Daily Expose is a FAKE NEWS website that capitalises on making shocking but fake stories to generate page views and money. It was later rebranded as The Expose.

It was founded in November 2020 by Jonathan Allen-Walker, a mechanic from Lincolnshire, and is infamous for publishing COVID-19 and vaccine misinformation that were quoted by Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, and Chinese state media.

Its articles have been regularly debunked as fake news, so you should NEVER share anything from Daily Expose / The Expose. Here are some of its fake stories that I personally debunked earlier:

Everything posted by The Expose must be considered fake news, until proven otherwise.

Fact #3 : China Publicly Announced Outbreak On 31 December 2019

The world first knew about the new coronavirus on the last day of 2019, not early January 2020 as The Expose claimed.

The Wuhan Municipal Health Commission in China first reported a cluster of pneumonia from a novel coronavirus publicly on 31 December 2019.

That’s why the WHO eventually called the disease, COVID-19, which stood for Coronavirus Disease 2019. If Chinese authorities announced the outbreak just one day later, it would have been known as COVID-20.

If The Expose cannot even get this simple fact right, what hope do you have that they are right about anything else?

Fact #4 : COVID-19 Name Was Announced On 11 February 2020

The WHO only issued the official names for the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), and the disease it caused (COVID-19) on 11 February 2020.

Before COVID-19, the naming conventions were completely different. The preceding disease caused by SARS-CoV-1 was known as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), and not COVID-02 (because it started in 2002)

So how is it possible for the US Department of Defense or their contractor, Black & Veatch to issue a subcontract to Labyrinth Global Health for “COVID-19 Research”?

That is only possible if the subcontract was modified after the COVID-19 name was established on 11 February 2020.

Fact #4 : DOD Subcontract Was Modified Twice In 2020

The contract that The Expose was talking about exists, but it is interesting that they did not include a direct link, but here it is, so you can check it out yourself. I also included a screenshot below.

It was a $369,511 subcontract given to Labyrinth Global Health Incorporated, by Black & Veatch Special Projects Corporation that started on 12 November 2019.

The US Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) had contracted with Black & Veatch to support Ukraine’s biological detection and diagnostic capabilities by providing them with equipment, supplies and training.

After the COVID-19 pandemic hit, they modified the contract twice to provide COVID-19 support to Ukraine – in April and June of 2020. The modification dates were merely not listed in the USASpending.gov page.

The DTRA explained it all in an email to Lead Stories :

No, DOD did not award a contract in 2019 for COVID-19 research. In this case, DTRA’s contractor modified a task order in 10 June 2020 to assist Ukraine in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, many months after the pandemic had begun. However, the date in the database reflects the original date the Master Servicing Agreement was entered into the system.

Information from USASpending.gov reflects data from a Master Servicing Agreement, or MSA, which can be modified by the DOD over time to better address emerging issues through its ongoing contracts. Contractors frequently sign additional sub-awards through task orders. These task orders, too, can be modified or amended. The date of each modification is not reflected on the USASpending.gov page, which stays as the date the original MSA was entered into the system, but the description is updated to reflect the latest changes in the task order.

The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) contracted with Black & Vea[t]ch to continue to support Ukraine’s peaceful and safe biological detection and diagnostic capabilities and to reduce biological threats, whether they are naturally-occurring, accidental, or intentional, through the provision of equipment, supplies, and training.

Black & Vea[t]ch signed the MSA with DTRA on 2 October, 2019, to modify DTRA’s requested non-COVID training support, which was submitted to the procurement system on 12 November 2019. After the pandemic began, the MSA was modified to provide additional COVID-19 pandemic-related support to Ukraine on 25 April 2020 and again on 12 June 2020.

The task order directed the servicing contractor to provide high-level subject matter expert mentorship support on COVID-19 Laboratory Diagnosis, Biological Safety and Laboratory Emergency Response in Ukraine.

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Fact #5 : Timeline Shows No Discrepancy

To make it easier for you to understand, here is a simplified timeline of what actually happened :

2019

October 2 : DTRA signed the Master Servicing Agreement (MSA) with Black & Veatch for training support to Ukraine
November 12 : The MSA was submitted to the system on 12 November 2019 (as shown in the screenshot below).
December 31 : China publicly announced novel coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan.

2020

February 11 : WHO issued official names of SARS-CoV-2 for the virus, and COVID-19 for the disease.
March 3 : First case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Chernivtsi Oblast, Ukraine.
April 25 : MSA was modified to provide COVID-19 pandemic support to Ukraine. *
June 12 : MSA was modified again, to provide COVID-19 pandemic support to Ukraine. *

* The modified task order directed the servicing contractor, Labyrinth Global Health Inc., to provide “high-level subject matter expert mentorship support” on “laboratory diagnosis, biological safety and laboratory emergency response” in Ukraine.

As you can see, there is no discrepancy in the timeline. The changes in the task order occurred only after COVID-19 spread to Ukraine in March 2020.

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

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

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Did US Pay For COVID-19 Research Before It Existed?!

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Did the US government pay for COVID-19 research in Ukraine, before the coronavirus even existed?!

Take a look at the viral claim and find out if it’s evidence the US created COVID-19!

Updated @ 2023-04-09 : Added a new Clayton Morris segment, and various updates.
Originally posted @ 2022-05-22

Claim : US Paid For COVID-19 Research Before It Even Existed!

People are sharing an article by The Expose (formerly Daily Expose), which claims that the United States paid for COVID-19 research to be performed in Ukraine, three months before it even existed!

Other people are sharing a video by former Fox News presenter, Clayton Morris, talking about The Expose’s article.

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

U.S. Department of Defense issued a contract for ‘COVID-19 Research’ in Ukraine 3 months before Covid was known to even exist

Perhaps explaining why Labyrinth Global Health has been collaborating with Peter Daszak’s EcoHealth Alliance, and Ernest Wolfe’s Metabiota since its formation in 2017.

Truth : US Did Not Pay For COVID-19 Research Before It Existed!

This is just another example of FAKE NEWS from the notorious fake news website, The Expose, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : The Expose Is A Notorious Fake News Website

Its articles have been regularly debunked as fake news, so you should NEVER share anything from Daily Expose / The Expose. Here are some of its fake stories that I personally debunked earlier:

Everything posted by The Expose must be considered fake news, until proven otherwise.

Fact #2 : That Was An Old Article

Clayton Morris and Natali addressed this article by The Expose in their Redacted video on 11 March 2023, and appear to believe that it was a new story.