Tag Archives: Food

Did Toxic Fukushima Water Kill Fish + Birds In Kuching?!

Did the toxic Fukushima waste water just kill fish and birds in Kuching, Malaysia?!

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

Claim : Toxic Fukushima Water Killed Fish + Birds In Kuching!

People are sharing a video on WhatsApp, which claims to show hundreds of fish in Kuching killed by the toxic Fukushima waste water. It’s paired with warnings like this:

How to explain this happen here in Kuching 🫤🤔

Not too long ago, the pigeons at our waterfront drop dead from poisoning ☹️🫤

https://www.techarp.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/WhatsApp-Video-2023-09-18-at-12.33.24.mp4?_=1

Truth : Fukushima Water Did Not Kill Fish + Birds In Kuching!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS surrounding the release of treated waste water from the Fukushima NPS, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : Viral Video Was Recorded In Kuching

The viral video was streamed live by Sarawak Edition at 12:14 PM on Sunday, 17 September 2023.

Sarawak Edition said that it recorded the video at Jalan Rock in Kuching, near the Shell petrol station, and an Indian temple.

I managed to geolocate the exact location the video was recorded (Google Map link) to the monsoon drain next to the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple at Jalan Rock, Min Chun Garden, in Kuching, Sarawak.

On the left is the Google Map Street View taken on March 2019, and on the right is a screenshot from the video showing the same electrical pole and high-rise building.

Fact #2 : It Was A Monsoon Drain

If you look carefully at the video, you can see that it is a monsoon drain, and not a river.

According to the person on the video, the dead fish appears to be tilapia. That’s not surprising – tilapia are hardy freshwater fish that can often be found in these monsoon drains.

I should point out that monsoon drains collect waste water from the surrounding area to be treated or released into the sea. The waste water goes into the sea, not the other way around!

Fact #3 : Fish Are Sometimes Found Dead In Monsoon Drains

Even though tilapia are hardy fish, they can sometimes be found dead in monsoon drains. That can occur if toxic substances are poured into the monsoon drain, or drains that flow in.

In February 2022, for example, tilapia fish were found dead in Kulai, Johor. Similarly, over 1,000 dead fish was found floating in a monsoon drain in Taman Seraya, Ampang in October 2014.

Obviously, all those cases have nothing to do with the release of the Fukushima waste water in Japan on August 24, 2023.

Fact #4 : Fukushima Waste Water Cannot Fly…

Fukushima is over 5,000 kilometres away from Kuching, Sarawak, as the crow flies. It is quite impossible for the waste water released by the nuclear power station there to flow all the way here.

Even if the Fukushima waste water is a homing torpedo designed to attack Kuching, it would have to flow past Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, the Philippines, and Vietnam, to reach Sarawak. There would have been reports of dead fish from those countries, but of course, nothing of that sort happened.

But most importantly, the dead fish is located deep inland – some 20 kilometres away from the nearest seaside.

Even if the Japanese somehow designed the Fukushima waste water to attack Kuching, the waste water cannot fly over land to kill tilapia fish 20 kilometres inland!

Fact #5 : Pigeons Were Found Dead On 2 August 2023

It is true that 41 pigeons were found mysteriously dead at the Kuching Esplanade. However, that incident occurred on the morning of 2 August 2023.

The Fukushima-Daiichin NPS only started releasing its treated waste water more than 3 weeks later – on Thursday, 24 August 2023. So the dead birds were definitely not killed by the release of the treated radioactive water from Fukushima…

Unless the Japanese invented a time machine to go back in time to kill those birds with the treated waste water? Now that might make for a good movie plot!

Fact #6 : Kuching Pigeons Were Likely Poisoned

The Sarawak Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) director Dr. Adrian Susin Ambud said that the department collected samples, and a preliminary investigation ruled out avian influenza (bird flu) as their cause of death. He believes that the pigeons were most likely poisoned.

The section of the Kuching Waterfront where the dead pigeons were found is known as a place where the public often feeds a large flock of pigeons. In fact, in this photo, you can see some bird food scattered on the roadside.

Fact #7 : This Is Just Fake News About Fukushima

There is no doubt that Japan is facing a LOT of criticism over its release of the Fukushima waste water, even though IAEA and many experts have endorsed the plan.

However, this is just another example of FAKE NEWS being created around the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster. Here are other examples I fact checked earlier:

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

Please Support My Work!

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

Name : Adrian Wong
Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
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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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Yasuhiro Sonoda Died After Drinking Fukushima Water?!

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Did former Japanese MP Yasuhiro Sonoda die from cancer, after drinking treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power station?!

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

Updated @ 2023-09-17 : Some minor updates.
Updated @ 2023-09-13 : Added new fact check video, and other minor updates.
Updated @ 2023-09-10 : Updated article with proof Yasuhiro Sonoda is still alive!
Originally posted @ 2023-09-01

Claim : Yasuhiro Sonoda Died After Drinking Fukushima Water!

People are sharing videos and photos of Yasuhiro Sonoda drinking ALPS-filtered water from the Fukushima nuclear power station in WhatsApp groups and social media, claiming that the former Japanese MP eventually died from cancer!

How is Yasuhiro Sonoda, a Japanese official who drank nuclear-contaminated water 12 years ago, now? Why did he disappear?

At the end of October 2011, Yasuhiro Sonoda, the then Japanese cabinet minister, poured half a glass of water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in front of media reporters in order to prove that the treated Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water was “drinkable and no problem”. The treated nuclear-contaminated water of Units 5 and 6 was “drinked twice.”

In December 2014, Yasuhiro Sonoda’s social platform stopped updating; in June 2015 , Sonoda Yasuhiro announced his retirement; at the beginning of 2018, Japanese media said that Sonoda Yasuhiro had been diagnosed with multiple myeloma; in August 2020, Sonoda Yasuhiro died of illness in Melekeok, the capital of Palau.

JERRY GOODE : 🚨☢️ 🇯🇵: Japan MP Yasuhiro Sonoda’s hands shook as he downed a glass of Fukushima Nuclear Contaminated Water in front of reporters and cameras. NOW HE IS MISSING! What happened to him?💀

Finally solved the case, Yasuhiro Sonoda is dead, died of multiple myeloma in 2020.

In June 2015, Yasuhiro Sonoda announced his retirement.
Early 2018. Due to physical discomfort, got checked up in Japan, and diagnosed with multiple myeloma.
At the end of 2018, he received treatment at MIT Medical School in the United States, but failed.
At the end of 2019, he went to Palau to recuperate (waiting to die).
In August 2020, he died in Melekeok, the capital of Palau, due to multiple myeloma and his whole body decomposed.

终于破案了，园田康博已死，死于 2020年，死手多发性骨髓瘤。

2015年6月，园田康博宣布引退。
2018 年初。因身体不适。在日本接受检查。
确诊多发性骨髓瘤。
2018 年末，在美国麻省理工医学院接受治疗
无效。
2019 年末，来到帕劳疗养（等死）。
2020年8月，死于帕劳首都梅莱凯奥克，因多发性骨髓瘤，全身身体腐烂而亡。

INF.News : …many years later, the Health Bureau of the Republic of Palau announced a regrettable news: Yasuhiro Sonoda passed away in Palau in 2020 due to his body gradually decomposing due to multiple myeloma.

Why did the Republic of Palau choose to announce such news at such a critical time when Japan discharged nuclear wastewater into the sea? The answer is actually quite simple: Protest.

The Republic of Palau chose to announce the death of Yasuhiro Sonoda at this critical moment, not only to express their dissatisfaction with the Japanese government, but also to alert the global community to the risks associated with nuclear energy.

Show less

Truth : Yasuhiro Sonoda Did Not Die After Drinking Fukushima Water!

This appears to be another example of FAKE NEWS created and/or shared by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) and pro-CCP netizens, to scare people into boycotting Japan and Japanese food, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : Yasuhiro Sonoda Drank Fukushima Water In 2011

First, let me just give you a quick overview of Yasuhiro Sonoda and why he became viral in 2023.

Born on June 9, 1967, Yasuhiro Sonoda (園田康博 / そのだやすひろ) was elected to the House of Representatives in the Diet (Japanese Parliament) in 2003, as a member of the Democratic Party of Japan.

After the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, the 44 year-old MP sought to ease concerns over the safety of the treated water. In response to a challenge by freelance journalist Yu Terasawa, he promised to drink the treated waste water.

I don’t want it to be seen as some kind of performance, but if that’s the best way to prove that the water is safe then I would gladly drink it right here, in front of you, any time.

The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) prepared a bottle of water from Fukushima Daiichi reactors no. 5 and no. 6, which was filtered and treated using its Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) to remove 62 radionuclides from the contaminated water.

Then, at an October 31, 2011 press conference, Yasuhiro Sonoda filled a glass with the ALPS-treated water before polishing it off in two gulps. Even so, he pointed out that the data was more important than the demonstration:

I am aware that just drinking [the treated water] doesn’t in itself mean that safety has been confirmed. The best way to do that is to present data to the public.

Fact #2 : Yasuhiro Sonoda Retired From Politics

The viral messages suggested something nefarious after Yasuhiro Sonoda stopped posting on his Twitter account in 2014. The truth is – he stopped tweeting after he lost elections for the second time.

After that infamous demonstration, Yasuhiro Sonoda lost his seat during the 46th House of Representatives election on December 16, 2012. He subsequently lost again in the 47th House of Representatives election on December 14, 2014.

His last Twitter post was on the night before he lost his election, showing a video of his last campaign speech on December 13.

The Mainichi Shimbun newspaper would later publish a news article (no longer available online) on June 14, 2015, stating that Yasuhiru Sonoda announced his withdrawal from politics.

Fact #3 : Yasuhiro Sonoda Is Still Alive!

After leaving politics in June 2015, Yasuhiro Sonoda receded from the limelight. However, there is no evidence he is dead.

As a former Member of Parliament, his death would have been announced by the Japanese media. Yet, there is no mention of his passing. The viral messages certainly offered no evidence to back up their claims.

But more importantly, Kyodo News reached out to Yasuhiro Sonoda himself via telephone on 2 September 2023, and confirmed that he is still alive! Mr. Sonoda denied that he died from cancer.

Sonoda said, “I would like to once again apologize to those who experienced the earthquake and the people of Fukushima Prefecture,” regarding the spread of false rumors caused by his actions at the time.

園田氏は当時の自身の行動がきっかけでデマが広がったことについて「震災を経験された人や福島県の人にあらためておわびしたい」と語った。

Fact #4 : No Evidence Yasuhiro Sonoda Has Multiple Myeloma

There is also no evidence that Yasuhiro Sonoda was diagnosed with multiple myeloma – a type of white blood cell cancer.

There has been no media report of such a diagnosis. Neither did Yasuhiro Sonoda mention it publicly. In fact, the viral messages also offered no evidence to back up this claim.

Unless Yasuhiro Sonoda or his family publicly reveals that he is suffering from multiple myeloma, or any kind of cancer for the matter, anyone who says that is likely lying to you.

Fact #5 : Yasuhiro Sonoda Was ACD CEO

Yasuhiro Sonoda kept a low profile after leaving politics. However, Taiwanese fact checking website, MyGoPen, discovered that Yasuhiro Sonoda became CEO and the company’s first Representative Director of ACD. Co. Ltd. in March 2018.

ACD Co., Ltd. is a subsidiary of the Japanese airlines, ANA (All Nippon Airways), which focuses on the cross-border e-commerce platform called ANA Overseas Shopping. This was confirmed by a June 17, 2019 CoinON interview with Sonoda as ACD CEO.

It is unlikely for him to be appointed both CEO and the first Representative Director of ACD if he was already dying from multiple myeloma in 2018.

Fact #6 : Yasuhiro Sonoda Retired From ACD In 2020

It appears that the claim that Yasuhiro Sonoda went to Palau at the end of 2019 for palliative care is false. He was still CEO of ACD Co., Ltd until his retirement on 14 March 2020.

On 1 November 2020, ACD Co., Ltd. issued a press release announcing that Yasuhiro Sonoda retired as Representative Director and President on 14 March 2020, and was replaced by Hiromichi Furui.

The fact that ACD announced his retirement in November 2020 also suggests that Yasuhiro Sonoda was still alive at that time. The viral message claimed that he died in August 2020.

Fact #7 : Palau Never Announced Yasuhiro Sonoda’s Death

There is no evidence that the Bureau of Health for the Republic of Palau ever announced the 2020 death of Yasuhiro Sonoda from multiple myeloma.

A quick check of the Palau National Government website showed no such announcement about the death of Yasuhiro Sonoda.

The websites promoting this claim did not provide a link to the announcement. Suspicious, isn’t it?

Fact #8 : Ngerulmud Is The Capital Of Palau

I should point out that Melekeok is a state, and not the capital of Palau. The capital of Palau is Ngerulmud. Before 2006, the capital of Palau was Koror City.

Fact #9 : MIT Does Not Have A Hospital / Medical School

MIT – the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is one of the top private universities in the United States, with five schools in Science, Engineering, Architecture and Planning, Management, and Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences.

MIT, however, does not have any schools of law or medicine. It also does not run any hospitals. Therefore, it is impossible for Yasuhiro Sonoda to seek medical treatment at the MIT Medical School, or the MIT Hospital as claimed.

Fact #10 : This Is Just Fake News About Fukushima

There is no doubt that Japan is facing a LOT of criticism over its release of the Fukushima waste water, even though IAEA and many experts have endorsed the plan.

However, this is just another example of FAKE NEWS being created around the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster. Here are other examples I fact checked earlier:

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

Please Support My Work!

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

Name : Adrian Wong
Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp

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

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

Recommended Reading

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Did Toxic Fukushima Water Kill Fish In Indonesia?!

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Did the toxic Fukushima waste water just kill thousands of fish in Indonesia?!

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

Claim : Toxic Fukushima Water Killed Fish In Indonesia!

People are sharing a video on WhatsApp, which claims to show thousands of fish in Indonesia killed by the toxic Fukushima waste water. It’s paired with warnings like this:

ALERT: TOXIC SEA WATER HAS ARRIVED AT INDONESIA.

Fishermen are catching more dead fishes than live ones.

Jangan makan ikan dulu. Limbah racun dari jepang sdh masuk ke indonisia.

Don’t eat fish yet. Toxic waste from Japan has entered Indonesia.

日本“毒水” 相信已漂到印尼水界. 食海产可要小心。

Truth : Fukushima Water Did Not Kill Fish In Indonesia!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS surrounding the release of treated waste water from the Fukushima NPS, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : This Happened In Tuban, East Java

The viral video appears to be recorded on Tuesday, 12 September 2023, at the beach in front of Hotel Purnama, along the Tuban-Semarang road in Tuban, East Java, Indonesia.

Fact #2 : Fish Were Caught, Not Found Dead

The fish seen in the video were not found dead on the beach, or in the sea. Rather, they were caught by fishermen in the area.

In fact, you can see one of the fishing boats at about 0:26 in the video. The fisherman was merely dropping off his catch at the beach, to be collected by the white Bintang Novelita pickup truck seen at 0:13 in the video.

Fact #3 : Only One Type of Fish Was Caught

If you look carefully at the video, you will notice that it only shows one species of fish. Known locally as Jamal Roti or Manyung, it is a marine catfish from the Ariidae family.

This is actually the spawning season for this catfish, which not only causes them to gather, they also rise to the surface, making it easy for fishermen to catch them.

The fishermen caught about 2 tons of this catfish that day. A week earlier, they caught one ton of the same fish.

If there was any contamination killing fishes in the area, there would be an assortment of different fish species, not just one particular fish species.

Fact #4 : Jenu Police Refuted Viral Claim

On Wednesday, 13 September 2023, Jenu Police Chief Rialto confirmed that the large number of fish were not stranded on the beach, but caught by local fishermen.

Fact #5 : Tuban Fisheries Service Refuted Viral Claim

On Wednesday, 13 September 2023, the head of the Tuban Regency Livestock, Fisheries and Food Security Service, Eko Arif Yulianto confirmed that the Manyung catfish were spawning at that time. He appealed to the public to stop believing in unverified information.

Fact #6 : Tuban DKP2P Fisheries Refuted Viral Claim

On Thursday, 14 September 2023, the head of the Tuban DKP2P Fisheries Division, Lingo Indarto, publicly refuted the claim that the fish were killed from the Fukushima waste water.

The fishermen in the video, was identified as called Sutrisno from Karangsari. He said that the fish were all caught at sea, and were healthy and fresh.

Mr. Linggo called for netizens to stop believing in unverified rumours, as they can cause great losses to the fishermen. He is also coordinating with the East Java Province Maritime and Fisheries Service to fight this fake news.

Fact #7 : No Dead Fishes Were Reported En-Route

For the Fukushima waste water to reach Tuban, it would need to travel some 7,000 kilometres past southern Japan, the Philippines, the islands of Borneo and Sulawesi, Bali and Surabaya.

Yet no dead fish were reported elsewhere. How is that possible if the Fukushima waste water is so toxic? Did the evil Japanese design the waste water to only kill fish in Tuban?

Fact #8 : This Is Just Fake News About Fukushima

There is no doubt that Japan is facing a LOT of criticism over its release of the Fukushima waste water, even though IAEA and many experts have endorsed the plan.

However, this is just another example of FAKE NEWS being created around the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster. Here are other examples I fact checked earlier:

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

Please Support My Work!

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

Name : Adrian Wong
Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp

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

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

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Japan MP Sonoda Still Alive After Drinking Fukushima Water!

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Former Japanese MP Yasuhiro Sonoda did not die from cancer, and is still alive, after drinking ALPS-filtered water from the Fukushima nuclear power station!

Claim : Japan MP Sonoda Died After Drinking Fukushima Water!

People are sharing videos and photos of Yasuhiro Sonoda drinking the treated Fukushima waste water in WhatsApp groups and social media, claiming that the former Japanese MP eventually died from cancer!

How is Yasuhiro Sonoda, a Japanese official who drank nuclear-contaminated water 12 years ago, now? Why did he disappear?

Finally solved the case, Yasuhiro Sonoda is dead, died of multiple myeloma in 2020.

[/su_expand]

Why did the Republic of Palau choose to announce such news at such a critical time when Japan discharged nuclear wastewater into the sea? The answer is actually quite simple: Protest.

Truth : Japan MP Sonoda Did Not Die After Drinking Fukushima Water!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created and/or shared by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) and pro-CCP netizens, to scare people into boycotting Japan and Japanese food, and here are the reasons why…

I don’t want it to be seen as some kind of performance, but if that’s the best way to prove that the water is safe then I would gladly drink it right here, in front of you, any time.

Then, at an October 31, 2011 press conference, Yasuhiro Sonoda filled a glass with the ALPS-treated water before polishing it off in two gulps.

His last Twitter post was on the night before he lost his election, showing a video of his last campaign speech on December 13. The Mainichi Shimbun newspaper would later publish a news article (no longer available online) on June 14, 2015, stating that Yasuhiru Sonoda announced his withdrawal from politics.

After leaving politics in June 2015, Yasuhiro Sonoda receded from the limelight. However, there is no evidence he is dead. As a former Member of Parliament, his death would have been announced by the Japanese media. Yet, there is no mention of his passing. The viral messages certainly offered no evidence to back up their claims.

In fact, Yasuhiro Sonoda became CEO and the company’s first Representative Director of ACD. Co. Ltd. – a subsidiary of the Japanese airlines, ANA (All Nippon Airways), in March 2018. It is unlikely for him to be appointed both CEO and the first Representative Director of ACD if he was already dying from multiple myeloma in 2018.

Yasuhiro Sonoda remained CEO of ACD Co., Ltd until his retirement on 14 March 2020. On 1 November 2020, ACD Co., Ltd. issued a press release announcing that Yasuhiro Sonoda retired as Representative Director and President on 14 March 2020, and was replaced by Hiromichi Furui.

The fact that ACD announced his retirement in November 2020 also suggests that Yasuhiro Sonoda was still alive at that time. The viral message claimed that he died in August 2020.

But more importantly, Kyodo News reached out to Yasuhiro Sonoda himself via telephone on 2 September 2023, and confirmed that he was still alive! Mr. Sonoda denied that he died from cancer.

園田氏は当時の自身の行動がきっかけでデマが広がったことについて「震災を経験された人や福島県の人にあらためておわびしたい」と語った。

I should also point out that many claims in the viral messages are easily proven false:

A quick check of the Palau National Government website showed no such announcement about the death of Yasuhiro Sonoda.
Melekeok is a state, and not the capital of Palau. The capital of Palau is Ngerulmud. Before 2006, the capital of Palau was Koror City.
MIT – the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, does not have any schools of law or medicine. It also does not run any hospitals. Therefore, it is impossible for Yasuhiro Sonoda to seek medical treatment at the MIT Medical School, or the MIT Hospital as claimed.

There is no doubt that Japan is facing a LOT of criticism over its release of the Fukushima waste water, even though IAEA and many experts have endorsed the plan.

However, this is just another example of FAKE NEWS being created around the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster. Here are other examples I fact checked earlier:

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

Please Support My Work!

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

Name : Adrian Wong
Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp

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

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

Recommended Reading

Go Back To > Fact Check | Health | Tech ARP

Support Tech ARP!

Please support us by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or donating to our fund. Thank you!

Did Fukushima Water Kill Thousands Of Fish In Penang?!

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Did the radioactive Fukushima waste water just kill thousands of fish in Penang?!

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

Claim : Fukushima Water Killed Thousands Of Fish In Penang!

People are sharing a video on WhatsApp, which claims to show that thousands of fish floating on the water, after being killed by the radioactive Fukushima waste water!

Nuclear sudah sampai pantai Penang… Mati penang

Nuclear [contamination/radiation] has arrived at Penang beaches. Penang is dead.

If it is true, horrible japanese

The Japanese is helping America to depopulate the world

Truth : Fukushima Water Did Not Kill Thousands Of Fish In Penang!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS surrounding the release of treated waste water from the Fukushima NPS, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : This Happened On 26 August 2023

The viral video appears to be recorded on Saturday, 26 August 2023, when thousands of fish were found dead along the shores of Teluk Bahang in Penang.

Fact #2 : Fukushima Only Started Releasing Waste Water On 24 August

The Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power station only started releasing its treated waste water on Thursday, 24 August 2023.

As the crow flies, Penang is over 5,400 kilometres away from Fukushima. Even if the radioactive waste water is a missile, it would need to fly non-stop at over 110 km/h to reach Penang in time to kill the fish two days later. And this is only possible if the Fukushima waste water can actually FLY OVER Pattani in Thailand and Kedah to reach Penang!

If the evil Japanese people fired the Fukushima waste water like a homing torpedo at Penang, it would need to travel some 7,000 km to reach Teluk Bahang. That radioactive torpedo will need to “swim” non-stop at 145 km/h or 78 knots to kill fish in Penang two days later.

Fact #3 : No Dead Fishes Were Reported En-Route

For the Fukushima waste water to reach Penang, it would need to travel past southern Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, southern China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Sabah and Sarawak, before going around Singapore, and past Johor, Melaka, Selangor and Perak.

Yet no dead fish were reported elsewhere. How is that possible if the Fukushima waste water is so toxic? Did the evil Japanese design the waste water to only kill fish in Penang?

Fact #3 : Fish Were Killed By Red Tide Bloom

On the day the fishes were found dead in Penang, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Centre for Marine and Coastal Studies (CEMACS) deputy director Dr. Annette Jaya Ram spotted pink tide in Teluk Bahang.

CEMACS later confirmed that the thousands of fish found dead were likely killed by the red tide bloom. CEMACS director Professor Datuk Dr. Aileen Tan said on Wednesday, 30 August 2023, that several fish that they retrieved were found to be in a state of asphyxiation with their mouths wide open.

We found them deprived of oxygen, resulting in unconsciousness or death due to suffocation.

She also said that while the algae is not known to have any direct toxicity or toxic effects, it was possible that the fish died due to high levels of discharge by the plankton.

It is more intense this time compared to April because it happened during neap tide (compared to spring tide in April). The blooms were not drifted or carried away by the tides or waves this time.

Fact #4 : DOE Confirmed Fish Were Killed By Algal Bloom

The Department of Environment (DOE) issued a statement on Wednesday, 30 August 2023, confirming that the thousands of fish found dead were killed when the algal bloom deprived them of oxygen.

Several samples were taken and initial analysis found that the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water was at 1.59mg/L to 2.09mg/L for depths between 1m (and) 4m.

Investigations found that it does not fulfil Class 2 of Marine Water Quality Standard to support aquatic life.

DOE Director General Datuk Wan Abdul Latiff Wan Jaffar said that observations from two monitoring stations at Teluk Bahang suggested that the algal bloom was not caused by pollution.

Fact #5 : Algal Bloom Species Was Identified

On Wednesday, 30 August 2023, the Penang Fisheries Department identified the algal bloom as caused by Noctiluca scintillans, a species of marine dinoflagellates that is also known as sea sparkle.

Preliminary results of the analysis carried out by the Batu Maung Fisheries Research Institute found that the algae is non-toxic. It is from the Noctiluca scintillans species and is not dangerous to humans.

The department also pointed out that the very high density of algal in the water can cause fish to die, due to a decrease in dissolved oxygen.

Fact #6 : This Is Just Fake News About Fukushima

There is no doubt that Japan is facing a LOT of criticism over its release of the Fukushima waste water, even though IAEA and many experts have endorsed the plan.

However, this is just another example of FAKE NEWS being created around the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster. Here are other examples I fact checked earlier:

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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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Singapore Just Found NEW Radioactive Food From Japan?!

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Did Singapore just detect more radioactive food from Japan, after the release of wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power station?!

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

Updated @ 2023-09-04 : Added Singapore Food Agency’s announcement
Originally posted @ 2023-09-03

Claim : Singapore Found NEW Radioactive Food From Japan!

This message is being actively promoted by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) and pro-CCP netizens on WhatsApp and social media:

Singapore said it found radioactive contamination in four samples of vegetables imported from Japan and has extended the ban to food from two more Japanese prefectures.

Singapore’s Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority said radioactive contamination was found in Mitsuba (Japanese wild parsley), Nanohana (rapeseed plant), Mizuna (Japanese mustard) and perilla leaf samples.”

More Countries Ban Import of Japanese Food – With more countries detecting radioactive contamination in food imported from Japan, efforts to prevent it spreading through the global food chain have gained a new urgency (Wall Street Journal, 8/24/2023)

Truth : Singapore Did Not Find NEW Radioactive Food From Japan!

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

Fact #1 : WSJ Podcast Is Genuine But Outdated

First, let me just confirm that the Wall Street Journal podcast and transcript is genuine, and was posted on 24 August 2023, at 6:42 PM (local time).

However, that was just an audio clip and transcript of an old WSJ article (now removed) that was originally posted on 25 March 2011 – more than 12 years ago!

Fact #2 : Podcast Was Released Same Day As Wastewater Release

It is unknown why the Wall Street Journal chose to publish this podcast and transcript from their old 2011 story, but it was released on the same day the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station started releasing its treated wastewater.

If there was any detection of radioactive food from Japan, it would have happened at least a day or two earlier, and would not have anything to do with the release of the treated wastewater from the Fukushima NPS.

Fact #3 : Singapore Food Agency Refuted WSJ Podcast!

On 3 September 2023, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) issued a public announcement (PDF download) to refute the Wall Street Journal podcast which claimed that it found new samples of radioactive vegetables fin Japan.

SFA stated that it had not found any new contaminated vegetables from Japan. Neither did the SGA ban any food products from any Japanese prefectures recently.

The SFA also stated that it monitors all food imports, and will take action if any food imports were found to be unsafe or unsuitable for consumption.

Clarification on circulating article/podcast regarding import of Japanese food products

In response to media queries regarding a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article/podcast titled “More Countries Ban Import of Japanese Food”, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) has clarified that it has not found samples of contaminated vegetables from Japan or banned food products from any Japanese prefectures recently. The WSJ podcast has referred to a media release by the former Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) in 2011. This has since been overtaken by events.

We wish to reiterate that SFA adopts a science-based approach towards assessing food safety risks. Food imported into Singapore is subjected to SFA’s surveillance and monitoring regime, which includes radiation surveillance and enforcement actions will be taken should any food imports be found to be unsafe or unsuitable for consumption.

Fact #4 : Singapore AVA Announcement Was From 2011

The announcement by the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) of Singapore was not posted in August 2023, but over 12 years ago – on 24 March 2011 (PDF download).

DETECTION OF RADIOACTIVE CONTAMINANTS IN FOUR SAMPLES OF VEGETABLES FROM JAPAN – AVA SUSPENDS IMPORT OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES FROM ADDITIONAL TWO PREFECTURES

Radioactive contaminants have been detected in four samples of vegetables from Japan. The contaminated samples were imported from the affected prefectures of Tochigi and Ibaraki, as well as Chiba and Ehime which are outside the affected areas. The Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) will extend its suspension on the import of all fruits and vegetables to include Chiba and Ehime with immediate effect.

Issued by Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority On 24 Mar 2011

Fact #5 : Singapore Did Not Ban Japanese Food Imports

Despite the release of the Fukushima waste water, Singapore has not initiated any new import ban of food from Japan.

The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) stated that there will be “no immediate ban on seafood from Japan” following the release of the treated Fukushima wastewater.

Fact #6 : Singapore Has Not Detected Radioactive Food From Japan

The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) stated that its surveillance of the safety of food from Japan has been satisfactory. It has not detected any radioactive contaminant in food imports from Japan since 2013.

In fact, Singapore lifted pre-export tests and Certificate of Origin requirements on approved food imports from the Fukushima prefecture on May 28, 2021.

Even so, the SFA continues to closely monitor food imports from Japan to ensure that they comply with Singapore’s food safety requirements.

Fact #7 : This Is Just Fake News About Fukushima

There is no doubt that Japan is facing a LOT of criticism over its release of the Fukushima waste water, even though IAEA and many experts have endorsed the plan.

However, this is just another example of FAKE NEWS being created around the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster. Here are other examples I fact checked earlier:

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

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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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Singapore Refutes WSJ Radioactive Japan Food Podcast!

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The Singapore Food Agency just refuted a podcast by the Wall Street Journal that it found new radioactive food samples, and extended its ban on food imports from Japan!

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

Claim : Singapore Found New Radioactive Food From Japan!

This message (with a link to the WSJ podcast) went viral on WhatsApp and social media:

Singapore said it found radioactive contamination in four samples of vegetables imported from Japan and has extended the ban to food from two more Japanese prefectures.

Singapore Refutes WSJ Radioactive Japan Food Podcast!

The Wall Street Journal podcast and transcript is genuine, and was posted on 24 August 2023, at 6:42 PM (local time). However, that was just an audio clip and transcript of an old WSJ article (now removed) that was originally posted on 25 March 2011 – more than 12 years ago!

SFA stated that it had not found any new contaminated vegetables from Japan. Neither did the SGA ban any food products from any Japanese prefectures recently.

The SFA also stated that it monitors all food imports, and will take action if any food imports were found to be unsafe or unsuitable for consumption.

Clarification on circulating article/podcast regarding import of Japanese food products

The announcement by the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) of Singapore was not posted in August 2023, but over 12 years ago – on 24 March 2011 (PDF download).

DETECTION OF RADIOACTIVE CONTAMINANTS IN FOUR SAMPLES OF VEGETABLES FROM JAPAN – AVA SUSPENDS IMPORT OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES FROM ADDITIONAL TWO PREFECTURES

Issued by Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority On 24 Mar 2011

The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) had earlier stated that there will be “no immediate ban on seafood from Japan” following the release of the treated Fukushima wastewater.

In fact, Singapore lifted pre-export tests and Certificate of Origin requirements on approved food imports from the Fukushima prefecture on May 28, 2021.

To be clear, Singapore has not initiated any new import ban of food from Japan.

There is no doubt that Japan is facing a LOT of criticism over its release of the Fukushima waste water, even though IAEA and many experts have endorsed the plan.

However, this is just another example of FAKE NEWS being created around the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster. Here are other examples I fact checked earlier:

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

Please Support My Work!

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

Name : Adrian Wong
Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
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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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Is BlackRock The Largest Shareholder Of TEPCO?!

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Is the United States staying quiet about the release of Fukushima nuclear waste water because BlackRock is the largest shareholder of TEPCO?!

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

Claim : BlackRock Is The Largest TEPCO Shareholder!

This message is being actively promoted by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) and pro-CCP netizens on WhatsApp and social media:

Who is behind the discharge of Fukushima NUCLEAR CONTAMINATED water?

In the war of aggression against China in the year 1900, it was not the Japanese government that first initiated the conflict with China, but a certain company. To put it bluntly, it was a Japanese company now renamed as ‘Tepco‘.

Many people may not know about Tepco, which is responsible for the discharge of nuclear sewage in Japan. Tepco is actually an “American company” like South Korea’s Samsung.

The largest shareholder of Tepco is BlackRock of Wall Street, and the second largest shareholder is also The pioneer of Wall Street, and Japan’s own Nomura Asset Management is only the third largest shareholder…

So can you understand why the Americans are silent in this incident? Because the affairs of Japan are the affairs of the United States. The decisions of the Japanese government and Japanese companies are the decisions of the United States.

The United States launches any form of “war” against China, whether it is a trade war, a technological war, a biological war or an environmental war… Japan They are all loyal lackeys and pawns.

The whole world is already at war.

US is using Japan in a proxy war by getting Japan to dump nuclear wastes near China and then ban all Jap seafood to make US absolutely safe from radiation.

Truth : BlackRock Is Not Even Top 10 TEPCO Shareholder!

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

Fact #1 : No Japanese Company Attacked China In 1900

In the first paragraph, the viral message claimed that an unnamed Japanese company attacked China in a “war of aggression in the year 1900”. That appears to be utter nonsense.

The Qing dynasty and the Empire of Japan fought the First Sino-Japanese War from 1894 to 1895. It was only 42 years later that the Empire of Japan would attack the Republic of China.

However, there is no evidence that any Japanese company ever attacked China in the year 1900.

Fact #2 : TEPCO Was Never Renamed

The viral message also claimed that TEPCO was renamed from that unnamed Japanese company which attacked China in the year 1900.

TEPCO – the Tokyo Electric Power Company, was only established in 1951 when the Allied occupation forces privatised Japan’s electricity sector.

Since its establishment on May 1, 1951, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has never been renamed. So the claim in the viral message that TEPCO was renamed is false.

Fact #3 : Japanese Government Is Largest TEPCO Shareholder

The viral message also claimed that BlackRock is the largest shareholder of TEPCO. That’s not true.

The Japanese government is the largest and majority shareholder of TEPCO, with almost 55% ownership through the Nuclear Damage Compensation and Decommissioning Facilitation Corporation.

BlackRock isn’t even in the list of top 10 TEPCO shareholders (as of end of FY2021)! Take a look:

Top 10 TEPCO Shareholders	Equity Share (%)
Nuclear Damage Compensation and Decommissioning Facilitation Corporation	54.74
The Master Trust Bank of Japan, Ltd.	6.28
Custody Bank of Japan, Ltd.	1.77
TEPCO Group Employees’ Stock Sharing Organization	1.50
Tokyo Metropolitan Government	1.20
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation	1.01
STATE STREET BANK WEST CLIENT – TREATY 505234	0.75
Nippon Life Insurance Company	0.74
JP MORGAN CHASE BANK 385781	0.56
JP JPMSE LUX RE BARCLAYS CAPITAL SEC LTD EQ CO	0.55
TOTAL	69.12

Fact #4 : Second Largest Shareholder Is Not Pioneer Of Wall Street

The viral message claimed that the second largest shareholder of TEPCO stock is “The pioneer of Wall Street” but does not mention which American company it was referring to.

In any case, the second largest shareholder is The Master Trust Bank of Japan – a Japanese trust bank. Certainly not an American company.

Fact #5 : Fukushima Is Releasing Waste Water Off Japanese Coast

The viral message also claimed that Japan is dumping its nuclear wastes near China. That’s false.

TEPCO is actually releasing the treated waste water from its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station about 1 km off the coast of Japan.

Fukushima is also located on the east coast of Japan. Not is the waste water being released on the far side of Japan, it is being released AWAY from China.

Fact #6 : US Did Not Ban Japanese Seafood

The viral message also claimed that the United States banned Japanese seafood. That is also false.

In fact, the US FDA deactivated its Import Alert #99-33, which banned certain Japanese food products, in September 2021.

The US FDA has not reactivated that import ban. Neither has it ordered a new ban. That’s because it tested 51 samples for radionuclide contamination, and found no detectable levels of radioactive caesium.

Fact #7 : This Is Just Fake News About Fukushima

There is no doubt that Japan is facing a LOT of criticism over its release of the Fukushima waste water, even though IAEA and many experts have endorsed the plan.

However, this is just another example of FAKE NEWS being created around the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster. Here are other examples I fact checked earlier:

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

Please Support My Work!

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

Name : Adrian Wong
Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp

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

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

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EU + Japan Have Secret Agreement To Re-Export Seafood?!

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Is there a secret agreement between the EU and Japan to re-export contaminated seafood to other countries?! Here is what you need to know!

Claim : EU + Japan Have Secret Agreement To Re-Export Seafood!

People are sharing this message on WhatsApp and social media, claiming that there is a secret agreement between the EU and Japan to re-export contaminated seafood to other countries!

There is also a secret agreement between EU and the Japs for the EU to re-export the Jap contaminated sea products to other countries eg China, Asia, the Middle East, etc.

Above exposes that just before the Japanese discharges toxic nuclear wastes into the sea, the EU has decided to abolish the checking on imported (contaminated) Japanese seafood products! It’s clear that in the EU there is corruption and it’s also possible that they will secretly re-export the Japanese products to other countries! Thus China has also decided to suspend seafood imports from a number (12) of EU countries!

Thus, in order to ‘con’ the world, the EU simply re-labelled the Jap contaminated products as EU products and re-export them to other countries outside Europe!

It’s obvious that the Japs are paying EU regularly a considerable amount of bribes ( billions of Euros) for this service!

The greed of the whiteman & the evil Japs know no bounds. Do you want to gamble with the lives of your loved ones by consuming these radioactive products from Japan ❓Switch to local fresh fishes.

No Evidence EU + Japan Have Secret Agreement To Re-Export Seafood!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) to scare people into boycotting Japan and Japanese food, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : EU Lifted Final Fukushima Food Import Restrictions

This claim appears to be based on a 13 July 2023 decision by the European Union (EU) to lift its remaining restrictions on food imports from Japan after the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

The EU placed a strict maximum radioactivity level of 100 Bq/kg on food from Japan since June 2011, requiring pre-export testing of food products for radioactivity.

The EU only made this decision after finding that there was not even a single case of non-compliance over 12 years of monitoring food imports from Japan.

No non-compliances at the entry into the Union with those maximum radionuclide levels have been observed at import in the Union since June 2011, providing evidence that the control system put in place and the controls performed by the Japanese authorities are effective.

Let me repeat this – Japan has, not even once, exported any contaminated food items to the EU in the past 12 years.

Fact #2 : EU Progressively Reduced Fukushima Food Import Restrictions

It is also important to point out that the EU has reviewed its food import restrictions on Japan every two years, and has progressively lifted those restrictions .

In its last review on September 2021, the restrictions were only limited to wild mushrooms, some fish species, and wild edible plants from the prefectures of Fukushima, Miyagi,, Gunma, Yamanashi, Yamagata, Iwata, Shizuoka, Ibaraki, Nagano, and Niigata.

In other words, the EU had been progressively lifting food import restrictions on Japan, and only lifted its remaining restrictions on 13 July 2023. It was not like they suddenly lifted all food restrictions on that day.

Fact #3 : China Did Not Suspend EU Seafood Imports

On 24 August 2023, China announced an immediate blanket ban on all seafood imports from Japan. However, the import ban does not affect non-seafood food imports from Japan like vegetables, fruits, or canned food.

There is no evidence that China suspended seafood imports from 12 EU countries over fears of radioactive seafood being re-exported from Japan.

Fact #4 : There Is No Evidence Of Any Secret EU + Japan Re-Export Plan

There is also no evidence at all that the European Union (EU) has any secret plan to re-export contaminated seafood from Japan to other countries.

Of course, you may be thinking – how would I know since this is a secret agreement? Well, where is the evidence there is such a secret agreement?

Did the viral message include any evidence of such an agreement between the EU and Japan? No. So why should YOU believe some random claim circulating on WhatsApp / social media, with zero evidence to back it up?

Fact #5 : EU Seafood Re-Export Plan Not Logical

It is easy to claim that the EU is willing to help the Japanese re-export their contaminated seafood to other countries, but it’s really not logical.

For one thing – it is prohibitively expensive to export all those seafood to any European Union country, for re-export to China, Asia and the Middle East. It would also be quite impossible for EU countries to mask the Japan-native seafood species, and claim that they were caught in Europe!

Finally, such activities would be easily exposed by any importing country simply conducting radioactivity screening of imported food products.

Fact #5 : Japan Seafood Exports Are Only Worth €2.4 Billion

The claim that Japan is paying the EU billions of euros every year to re-export radioactive Japanese seafood is also not logical.

For one thing – the global export value of Japanese seafood in 2022 is only 387 billion yen, or about $2.6 billion / €2.4 billion.

Even if Japan exclusively exports ALL of its seafood to the EU to re-export to unsuspecting countries, it does not make financial sense to pay the EU a “bribe” of billions of euros to export only €2.4 billion worth of seafood!

Fact #7 : This Is Just Fake News About Fukushima

There is no doubt that Japan is facing a LOT of criticism over its release of the Fukushima waste water, even though IAEA and many experts have endorsed the plan.

However, this is just another example of FAKE NEWS being created around the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster. Here are other examples I fact checked earlier:

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

Please Support My Work!

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

Name : Adrian Wong
Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
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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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Fukushima Radioactive Water : What Makes It Different?

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Is the radioactive water being discharged from the Fukushima nuclear plant really different from waste water from other nuclear plants?!

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

Fukushima Radioactive Water Is Different From Normal Nuclear Waste Water!

People are sharing a Greenpeace article, as evidence that the radioactive water from Fukushima is not the same as normal nuclear waste water, but far more toxic and dangerous. Here is an excerpt from that Greenpeace article:

How is Fukushima wastewater distinguished from other nuclear plants?

The contaminated water of Fukushima is distinguished from other nuclear power plants not only by its greater variety of radioactive materials but also the overall much higher radioactivity. If it is discharged to the Pacific Ocean, it will potentially pose a significant threat to the well-being of human health and marine life.

Normally, water that is used in cooling a nuclear plant in routine operation and then discharged to the environment has no direct contact with the nuclear reactor fuel cores. In contrast, the contaminated water generated by the Fukushima disaster has come into direct contact with contamination from the melted down cores of three reactors and as such is severely contaminated with many radionuclides.

In other words, it is not appropriate to compare nuclear wastewater of normally operating nuclear plants in general and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear wastewater.

According to the latest report by the Japanese government, there are 621 radioactive isotopes were found in the existing nuclear water tanks in Fukushima, among which concentration of a radiouchile called tritium reached about 860 TBq2 – an alarming level that far exceeds the acceptable norm. Based on its survey studies, Greenpeace now highlights the findings of the following detrimental materials.

Strontium-90

An enormous amount of strontium-90 remains in the Fukushima nuclear plant, a radioactive material which in general is found in trace amounts in water discharged to the environment from normal operating nuclear plants.

Carbon-14

The Fukushima wastewater contains carbon-14 with half life of 5,730 years.

Other radioactive materials — Cesium-137, Iodine-129, Cobalt-60

What is also present in the Fukushima wastewater include other radioactive materials: cesium-137, iodine-129, and cobalt-60, etc.

The Japanese government claimed the wastewater treated through the ALPS processing technology would be free of any radionuclides except tritium, which is the only radionuclide to be discharged into the Ocean. However, it is far from true.

Until March 2020, the contaminated wastewater generated since the Fukushima incident has reached over 1 million metric tonnes, among it 778,000 tonnes³ (about 72% of the total water in storage tanks) is yet to undergo secondary ALPS processing.

There is no clear schedule nor work progress review as to when secondary processing could proceed. Up till now (April 2021), 2,000 tonnes of contaminated water has been undergoing secondary ALPS processing, only 0.25% of the total amount in the coming few years.

Show less

What Makes Fukushima Radioactive Water Different?

The Greenpeace article makes for a compelling read, but here are the reasons why it is no longer accurate.

Fact #1 : Greenpeace Posted This In April 2021

First, it is best to note that this Greenpeace article was written in April 2021 in reaction to the Japanese government’s publication of its plan to eventually discharge the Fukushima radioactive waste water into the ocean.

The problem is that article was written almost 2.5 years before Japan actually initiated its plan to release the treated radioactive waste water from the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Since then, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) and the Japanese government have provided additional data to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for its evaluation of the proposed plan to discharge treated radioactive waste water into the ocean.

Fact #2 : IAEA Released A Comprehensive Report

Right after announcing its waste water release plan in April 2021, the Japanese government requested that the IAEA conduct a detailed review of that plan, to ensure that it meets the relevant international safety standards.

The IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi accepted and established a task force to review the Japanese government’s plan to release the treated radioactive waste water. The task force was made up of top specialists from within the IAEA, and advised by internationally-recognised external experts from across the globe.

After two years of work, the IAEA publicly released its comprehensive report (PDF download) on 4 July 2023. The IAEA concluded that the plan to release treated water at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea was “consistent with IAEA Safety Standards“.

Fact #3 : Fukushima Waste Water Is Filtered

It is true that the Fukushima waste water is different from normal nuclear waste water in that it has come into direct contact with radioactive material. Hence, it has many more radionuclides than normal nuclear waste water.

However, the heavily-contaminated waste water at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is not going to be released directly into the ocean.

Instead, it will be filtered and treated using the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS), to remove 62 radionuclides from the contaminated water.

Fact #4 : Fukushima Water Tanks Keep Leaking!

The Greenpeace article correctly points that there is a lot of radioactive water being stored at Fukushima Daiichi. In fact, there is currently about 1.3 million tonnes of radioactive water is stored in over 1,000 gigantic tanks!

Obviously, this is not a sustainable solution for TEPCO in the long-term, as they have to keep building new tanks, and old tanks will eventually leak. Or the water may be accidentally released.

In August 2013, TEPCO revealed that 300 metric tonnes of highly-radioactive water leaked from a storage tank.
In October 2013, TEPCO revealed that another tank was leaking, and some of the highly-radioactive water may have reached the ocean.
In February 2014, TEPCO revealed that a valve left open by mistake allowed about 100 tonnes of highly-radioactive water to overflow from a storage tank.
In October 2016, about 32 litres of highly-radioactive water leaked from a seam in a water tank.

Regardless of what we may think about the release of radioactive water into the ocean, it doesn’t appear to be practical to keep all that water in tanks that will eventually leak. Or even worse – get discharged all in one go, if there is another earthquake!

It is arguably much safer to treat and discharge the water, instead of risking these inevitable leaks of highly-radioactive water.

Fact #5 : Expected Exposure 1000X Lower Than Limit

For the purpose of the IAEA review, the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) of Japan selected a dose constraint of 0.05 mSv (millisieverts) per year for someone exposed to the ALPS-treated water.

That is 20X lower than the “average accumulated background radiation dose of an individual for 1 year, exclusive of radon, in the United States“. In other words – very conservative.

The IAEA task force and TEPCO also assessed the exposure risk from within a 10 km x 10 km area surrounding the discharge point. Again, very conservative – because no one really would be foolish enough to fish from that area!

In the end, the amount of extra radioactivity that one might get from swimming in ALPS-treated water and ingesting seafood exposed to ALPS-treated water is less than 0.01 microsieverts. That’s about 5,000X lower than the NRA limit!

The IAEA report, however, is even more conservative in its evaluation:

[I]n all cases the doses are very low and more than 1000 times lower than the dose constraint of 0.05 mSv per year.

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

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

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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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FDA Import Alert 99-33 On Japanese Food Fact Check!

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Here is what you need to know about the FDA import alert 99-33 on Japanese food over radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant!

Updated @ 2023-08-25 : Updated the article
Originally posted @ 2023-03-21

Claim : FDA Issued Import Alert 99-33, Banning Japanese Food!

This message has gone viral on and off over the years, being shared again and again on WhatsApp, and social media. It’s long, so feel free to skip to the next section for the facts…

The US Food and Drug Administration has issued a notice

A week ago, the US law came into force:
🎯 FDA Issued Alert No. 99-33, prohibiting the following
🅾️ Japanese food entering the US:
📎 Fresh milk,
📎 Butter,
📎Milk powder,
📎Baby milk powder, and others
📎Dairy products;
📎Vegetables, sweet potatoes, salt, and other products
📎Rice,
📎 Whole wheat;
📎Fish;
📎Meat and poultry;
📎Clams;
📎 sea urchin;
📎Citrus pomelo fruits;
📎 Apples, kiwis and other fruits.

❌The reason is radionuclide contamination.
Japan finally admits that its inability to control Fukushima’s daily discharge of millions of tons of radioactive wastewater into the Pacific Ocean has caused many people to suffer from cancer or
Disease has seriously affected human beings and the ecological environment around the world. I can’t imagine it!
❌Don’t eat Japanese food.
💢In the coastal waters of the United States, it was found that the radioactivity value is getting higher and higher.
Try not to go to Japan, preferably not.
💢The Australian government has stopped visa issuance for Japanese,
💢 The US also stopped Japanese immigration to the US.
At present, the situation in Japan is more serious than we imagined. More than 70% of the entire Japanese territory is polluted.
Japan’s radioactive material has flowed into the ocean, and the affected area of the ocean is getting wider and wider.
It is more serious than imagined. The Japanese government is afraid of causing panic, and they will give up or lie to inform the surrounding people.
Japanese seafood, mushrooms do not eat.
After the last earthquake, radioactive material from the damaged Japanese nuclear power plant began to flow into the ocean or surrounding areas, and began to find
❌Deformed seafood and plants
❌ Mutated mushrooms
❌ mutated fish,
❌Varied seafood,
Foods exposed to radioactive substances will be induced within 1-2 years after eating
🅾️Esophageal cancer
🅾️Lymphoma
🅾️ Leukemia, etc., especially for young children, pregnant women will have a greater impact.
Neighboring countries have stopped seafood trade with Japan:
It is prohibited to import 📎herring, 📎shells, 📎shiitake mushrooms from Japan.
The fish caught in the waters near Japan had 380 times the radioactivity.
From now on, never eat Japanese seafood or sashimi.
Since the nuclear explosion of the tsunami in Japan, a survey of Chinese tourists to Japan who have traveled to Japan and eaten Japanese food many times shows that there are strange diseases of varying degrees, and they are on the rise!
And Japan’s radioactive nuclear-contaminated local products are all supplied to foreign tourists!
Japan eats food imported from other countries!
Dear friends and compatriots
For the health of your loved ones and the next generation, please share it in your WeChat space, and immediately boycott all nuclear-contaminated food in Japan.
Do not buy!
Remember!

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The Truth About FDA Import Alert 99-33 On Japanese Food!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) to scare people into boycotting Japan and Japanese food, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : FDA Issued Import Alert #99-33 In March 2011

On March 11, 2011, Japan was hit by a massive tsunami triggered by a 9-magnitude earthquake off its Pacific coast. The force of the tsunami greatly damaged the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, contaminating the surrounding area with radioactive material.

The Government of Japan determined that certain food products in affected prefectures were therefore not fit for human consumption, due to the risk of contamination by the radioactive material. They banned those food products from sale within Japan, and for export.

The US FDA responded by issuing Import Alert #99-33 – “Detention Without Physical Examination of Products from Japan due to Radionuclide Contamination.”

This part of the viral post is true, but everything else is false.

Fact #2 : FDA Import Alert #99-33 Was Limited To Certain Prefectures

The FDA Import Alert #99-33 did not ban the import of all Japanese food products, as the viral post claimed.

It only targeted Japan’s own restrictions at the prefecture level, using Section 801(a)(2) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act:

FDA-regulated products are subject to refusal and will be refused admission into the United States if the products appear to be forbidden or restricted for sale in the country in which they were produced or from which they were exported.

Fact #3 : FDA Cancelled Import Alert #99-33 In September 2021

On September 21, 2022, the US FDA deactivated (cancelled) Import Alert #99-33. Since then, there has been no ban on any food product from the five affected prefectures of Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima and Ibaraki.

Now, after an extensive analysis of Japan’s robust control measures that include decontamination, monitoring and enforcement; after reviewing the results of 10 years of sampling food products from Japan; and after determining a very low risk to American consumers from radioactive contaminated foods imported from Japan, FDA has decided that the IA is no longer necessary to protect public health and therefore should be deactivated.

Despite this cancellation of the import ban more than a year ago, the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛) continues to spread this fake story on WhatsApp, as well as social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

Fact #4 : Australia Did Not Stop Issuing Visa To Japanese Travellers

Australia never suspended visa issuance for Japanese travels over the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident.

Fact #5 : US Did Not Suspend Japanese Immigration

The United States never suspended immigration of Japanese citizens over the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident.

Fact #6 : Japan Did Not Supply Contaminated Food To Tourists

This claim has been repeatedly promoted by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), and is categorically false.

Japan did not reserve their contaminated food supply for consumption by tourists, while importing food for their own citizens. Neither did Chinese tourists to Japan suffer “strange diseases of varying degrees”.

Those are just lies created by the wumao to scare Chinese citizens into boycotting Japan and Japanese food products.

Fact #7 : Fukushima Radiation Only Affected A Small Area Of Japan

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident did not affect 70% of Japanese territory.

The Government of Japan established a 30 kilometre no-fly zone, and a 20 kilometre exclusion zone, around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Aerial survey of the radioactive caesium levels in May 2012 show that only a small part of Japan was affected.

Fact #8 : Harmful Radionuclides Were Removed From Wastewater

Both fresh water and seawater were used to cool down the melting nuclear fuel rods and spent fuel rods stored at the facility.

Measures were quickly taken to block the seepage of the contaminated wastewater into the sea and water table. For example, TEPCO poured a 60 cm-thick concrete wall covering 70,000 square meters of ocean seabed.

There were occasional accidental discharges of radioactive wastewater, but generally the radioactive wastewater was stored in massive storage tanks and treated using the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS).

ALPS removed harmful radionuclides like caesium and strontium from the wastewater, leaving only tritium – a mildly radioactive and far less harmful hydrogen isotope.

Fact #9 : Decontaminated Wastewater Used To Keep Reactors Cooled

The water treatment system became fully-functional, together with water recycling systems on 3 July 2011.

The decontaminated wastewater thereafter is being 100% reused to keep the reactors cooler, so no additional volume of contaminated water would be generated.

Fact #10 : Excess Decontaminated Wastewater To Be Released

A large amount of treated wastewater remain at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, and on April 13, 2021, the Government of Japan announced that the treated wastewater would be released in 2023.

The US FDA says that the treated wastewater presents an “extremely low” health risk even if consumed, which is rather minimised because it’s being discharged into the vast ocean.

According to scientific experts from interagency advisory teams and FDA representatives to the US Advisory Team for Environment, Food and Health, the release of the treated wastewater will have “no effect on the safety of foods imported from Japan“.

In other words, the FDA considers food from Japan to be perfectly safe to import and consume, even after the treated wastewater is released into the ocean.

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

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

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Did Hong Kong Just Ban ALL Food From Japan?!

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Did Hong Kong just ban all food imports from Japan, after the Fukushima nuclear plant started releasing radioactive waste water into the Pacific Ocean?!

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

Claim : Hong Kong Just Banned All Food From Japan!

People are sharing a video clip on TikTok and WhatsApp, claiming that Hong Kong just banned all food imports from Japan, after the Fukushima nuclear plant started releasing radioactive waste water into the Pacific Ocean!

The video just shows images of the Fukushima nuclear power plant, fishing boats, seafood, and Japanese food products, with this warning:

STOP BUYING ALL JAPANESE FOODS, Japan Starts Dumping its Nuclear Waste into Ocean on Thursday 24/8/23

HK has prohibited all Japanese Foods, including Vegetables, Fruits, Seaweed and Canned Food.

According to the Voice of the Greater Bay Area, the Japanese government announced that it will discharge Fukushima nuclear contaminated water enters sea

The Hong Kong SAR Government and the Macao SAR Government have decided from August 24, 2023, ban imports from Fukushima Prefecture, Chiba Prefecture, Tochigi Prefecture, Ibaraki Prefecture, Gunma Prefecture, Miyagi Prefecture, Shinju Prefecture, Nagano and Saitama Prefecture. A total of 10 prefectures including Saitama Prefecture and Tokyo

据@大湾区之声消息日本政府宣布将于近日排放福岛核污染水入海

香港特区政府和澳门特区政府决定从2023年8月24日起禁止进口源自福岛县，千叶县，枥木县，茨城县群马县，宫城县，新? 县，长野咸埼玉县及东京都共10个都县区

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The video clip is also shared with messages like this example:

Confirmed HKG [Hong Kong] yesterday announced the ban on food from Japanese, both raw and pre-prepared.

Truth : Hong Kong Did Not Ban All Food From Japan!

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

Fact #1 : Hong Kong Did Not Ban All Food From Japan

Let me just start by pointing out that Hong Kong did not ban ALL food imports from Japan.

It would be illogical to do that since the release of treated waste water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant only goes into the Pacific Ocean, and does not affect land produce, for example.

Fact #2 : Hong Kong Only Banned Some Seafood From Japan

On 22 August 2023, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee ordered Environment Secretary Tse Chin-wan and relevant departments to immediately activate import controls on some seafood from Japan.

Environment Secretary Tse Chin-wan then announced an indefinite ban on some seafood imports starting on Thursday, 24 August 2023 – when the Fukushima nuclear power plant is expected to begin releasing its treated waste water.

Fact #3 : Macau Banned Live + Fresh Food

In tandem with Hong Kong, Macau also ordered an import ban on food from Japan. But instead of banning just seafood, Macau is banning live and fresh food products, food products of animal origin, sea salt and seaweed.

While this appears to be more wide-ranging than the seafood-only ban by Hong Kong, it only covers “live and fresh” food products, and does not appear to cover dried foods or canned food products.

Fact #4 : Only 10 Prefectures Are Affected

In addition, the limited food import ban by Hong Kong and Macau only affects 10 prefectures in Japan:

Tokyo,
Fukushima,
Chiba,
Gunma,
Tochigi,
Ibaraki,
Miyagi,
Niigata,
Nagano, and
Saitama

All forms of seafood from these ten prefectures will be banned from being imported into Hong Kong, regardless of whether they are frozen, chilled, or dried. It does not include vegetables, fruits, or canned food.

When it comes to Macau, only live and fresh food products from these ten prefectures will be banned from being imported.

Fact #5 : Even China Only Banned Seafood From Japan

Just in case you think that it was China that banned all food imports from Japan, that is also untrue.

On 24 August 2023, China announced an immediate blanket ban on all seafood imports from Japan.

While the Chinese ban is much wider – covering the entirety of Japan, it is still limited to seafood, and does not affect non-seafood food imports from Japan.

Just like the Hong Kong ban, the Chinese ban does not include vegetables, fruits, or canned food.

Fact #6 : Fukushima Waste Water Is Filtered + Treated Before Release

To be clear – TEPCO isn’t going to just release radioactive water into the ocean. The Fukushima waste water is being filtered using the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) to remove most of its radioactivity.

The ALPS uses a series of chemical reactions to remove 62 radionuclides from the contaminated water, leaving only tritium and carbon-14. Tritium and carbon-14 are radioactive forms of hydrogen and carbon, which makes them difficult to separate from water.

The treated waste water is then diluted with seawater to reduce the concentration of tritium and carbon-14 before it is released into the ocean.

The final level of tritium is estimated at 1,500 becquerels per litre, which is lower than what is required by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for release, and even lower than the WHO limit for drinking water.

Fact #7 : This Is Just Fake News About Fukushima

There is no doubt that Japan is facing a LOT of criticism over its release of the Fukushima waste water, even though IAEA and many experts have endorsed the plan.

However, this is just another example of FAKE NEWS being created around the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster. Here are other examples I fact checked earlier:

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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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Fukushima Waste Water Release : Should You Worry?!

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Japan will start releasing tons of treated radioactive waste water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant!

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

Claim : Fukushima Waste Water Will Contaminate Japanese Food!

People are now sharing articles about the impending release of radioactive waste water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, with warnings about contaminated Japanese food!

Circulating on WhatsApp : Must avoid seafood from Japan 😭.

@ElysiusThor : RADIOACTIVE ☢️ CONTAMINATION ALERT:

Avoid consuming any Japanese seafood imports. Japan will start dumping their 1million ton of radioactive ☢️ waste water into the ocean this Thursday. Keep your family safe from radiation-laced Japanese seafood products.

Circulating on WhatsApp : Good luck to shashimi lovers

Japan to release Fukushima waste water into the ocean starting on Thursday

No Evidence Fukushima Waste Water Will Contaminate Japanese Food

The decision of the Japanese government to release the radioactive Fukushima waste water is an emotionally-charged event that has triggered condemnation by many people all over the world.

It doesn’t help that there is now a wave of warnings about contaminated Japanese food on social media and instant messaging platforms.

Take some deep breaths and CALM yourself down. Then consider what we know so far about all these warnings.

Fact #1 : Japan Approved Release Of Fukushima Waste Water

On Tuesday, 22 August 2023, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida approved the release of the radioactive waste water stored at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, at a meeting of Cabinet ministers involved in the plan.

He instructed the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant’s operators, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO) to get ready to release the waste water from Thursday onwards, if weather and sea conditions permit.

At the cabinet meeting, Kishida said that the release of the waste water is an essential step to decommissioning the nuclear plant, and continue with the recover of the Fukushima prefecture after the 11 March 2011 disaster.

Fact #2 : IAEA Approved Release Of Fukushima Waste Water

The International Atomic Agency (IAEA) conducted a safety review of Japan’s plans to release treated water into the Pacific Ocean.

After nearly two years of work, the IAEA released a report (PDF download) on 4 July 2023. The IAEA concluded that the plan are “consistent with relevant international safety standards“, and would have “negligible radiological impact on people and the environment“.

Fact #3 : Fukushima Uses Water To Cool Fuel Rods

Now, it is necessary to understand WHY there is even radioactive waste water at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

After the plant’s cooling systems were destroyed by the massive 2011 earthquake and tsunami, three of its nuclear reactors melted down. The reactors were also damaged by explosions caused by the release of hydrogen gas.

To prevent further damage to the reactors, TEPCO has been pumping water to cool the nuclear fuel rods. The water, which is now contaminated with radioactive elements, is then stored in massive tanks.

Fact #4 : Fukushima Water Tanks Keep Leaking!

Currently, about 1.3 million tonnes of radioactive water is stored in over 1,000 gigantic tanks at the nuclear plant.

Obviously, this is not a sustainable solution for TEPCO in the long-term, as they have to keep building new tanks, and old tanks will eventually leak. Or the water may be accidentally released.

In August 2013, TEPCO revealed that 300 metric tonnes of highly-radioactive water leaked from a storage tank.
In October 2013, TEPCO revealed that another tank was leaking, and some of the highly-radioactive water may have reached the ocean.
In February 2014, TEPCO revealed that a valve left open by mistake allowed about 100 tonnes of highly-radioactive water to overflow from a storage tank.
In October 2016, about 32 litres of highly-radioactive water leaked from a seam in a water tank.

Regardless of what we may think about the release of radioactive water into the ocean, it doesn’t appear to be practical to keep all that water in tanks that will eventually leak.

It is arguably much safer to treat and discharge the water, instead of risking these inevitable leaks of highly-radioactive water.

Fact #5 : Fukushima Waste Water Is Filtered + Treated Before Release

To be clear – TEPCO isn’t going to just release the radioactive water into the ocean. The Fukushima waste water is being filtered using the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) to remove most of its radioactivity.

The treated waste water is then diluted with seawater to reduce the concentration of tritium and carbon-14 before it is released into the ocean.

Fact #6 : Fukushima Waste Water To Be Released Over 30 Years

Most people are not aware that nuclear power plants around the world regularly release waste water containing higher tritium levels than the treated waste water from Fukushima.

Of course, TEPCO will be releasing A LOT MORE waste water than those power plants, having accumulated over 1.3 million tonnes over the last 12 years or so.

That’s why TEPCO will gradually release the treated Fukushima waste water into the Pacific Ocean over an extended period of 30 years.

According to molecular pathology expert Gerry Thomas, who worked with Japanese scientists on radiation research, and advised the IAEA on the Fukushima report:

The water released will be a drop in the ocean, both in terms of volume and radioactivity. There is no evidence that these extremely low levels of radioisotopes have a detrimental health effect.

Fact #7 : Tritium Has Short Half-Life

Tritium has a short radioactive half-life of 12.32 years. What this means is that tritium will rapidly degrade:

only half the amount would remain after 12.32 years
a quarter will remain after 24.64 years

In other words, some of the waste water in Fukushima now has half the amount of tritium than was originally present when it was collected 12 years ago!

And if water collected in August 2023 was only released at the end of the 30 year discharge timeline, only 18.5% of its original quantity of tritium would remain in the water.

This is part of the reason why tritium paint is no longer used in premium watches to provide illuminated dials – its brightness keeps halving every 12 years!

Fact #8 : Tritium + Carbon-14 Occur Naturally

Both tritium and carbon-14 emit very low levels of radiation through beta radiation, which has low penetrating power – it can be stopped by nothing more than a layer of clothing or aluminium foil!

But more importantly, both tritium and carbon-14 occur naturally in the environment, and only pose a risk to human life if consumed in large quantities.

Unless you plan to drink a lot of undiluted Fukushima waste water to prove a point, you are unlikely to suffer radiation poisoning.

Fact #9 : Waste Water Will Be Discharged Into Ocean

Finally, let me end by simply pointing out that the Fukushima waste water isn’t going to be used to irrigate Japanese farms. So there is no risk to Japanese farm produce.

There is also no evidence that the treated waste water will contaminate Japanese seafood as the treated Fukushima waste water will be released into the ocean, which will further dilute the concentration of the tritium and carbon-14 nucleotides.

Fact #10 : Contaminated Fish Mostly Limited To Fukushima Area

There have been reports that fish living near the drainage outlets at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was found to have radioactive caesium 180X higher than Japan’s safety limit.

However, that contamination cannot be from the discharge of the treated waste water (which has not occurred and would not contain radioactive caesium), but is mostly caused by untreated contaminated water that has been leaking from the nuclear plant for many years now.

In other words, the discovery of such contaminated fish is evidence that the waste water should be treated, instead of being left untreated in storage tanks to risk further leaks.

TEPCO installed nets in January 2016 to contain contaminated fish inside the area. However, these nets have apparently failed, allowing contaminated fish to escape. That’s why regular sampling is now conducted in the area to detect such leaks.

Since contaminated water flowed into the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station port immediately after the accident, Tepco has periodically removed fish from inside the port since 2012 using fishnets that have been installed to prevent the fish from escaping the port.

However, when a black rockfish with radioactive concentrations that exceed regulatory standards was caught off the coast of Soma [about 50km north of the plant] in January 2022, we began sampling again within this area in conjunction with the installation of more nets to prevent fish from leaving the port.

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

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

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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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The Highly Radioactive Japanese Food Video Explained!

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Were Japanese food products proven to be highly radioactive in a viral video?!

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

Claim : Viral Video Proves Japanese Food Is Highly Radioactive!

People are sharing a video which claims to prove that Japanese food products are highly radioactive!

In the video, a man explains in Cantonese how he tested the radioactivity level of a Japanese food product, and found that it was highly radioactive.

It is sometimes shared with this English post, to help people understand what’s going on in the video:

Japanese foodstuffs full of radiation.

Japan has d very toxic nuclear radiation waters to be release or partially released already… be aware…fr d FUKUSHIMA Nuclear plant.

Truth : Video Does Not Prove Japanese Food Is Radioactive At All!

This is yet another example of FAKE VIDEOS circulating on WhatsApp, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : The Viral Message Is Misleading

Let me just start by pointing out that the viral English message tied to this video is misleading. The man in the video never once mentioned that this food product was from Fukushima, or mentioned the Fukushima nuclear plant.

With help from Yuh Hui and Adrian Tung, here is the English translation of what the man said in the video:

This is a radiation monitoring device.

Now, there is Japanese food that I placed on a bench over there. Now, I will walk towards it, and see how much radiation it has.

As I approach the Japanese food, the radiation reading goes up. Now, I place the device here (on the food). See how the radiation reading is very high. This is food from Japan.

See how the device gives a “beep beep” sound, and the screen turns red. The radiation reading is more than 400.

If you ever go to Japan, try not to eat the food there, or buy any food souvenirs for your relatives and friends. It will be terrible if they get radiation poisoning!

This food was given to me by a friend who bought it from Japan. I’m not going to eat it. I will accept it and will throw it away later.

Fact #2 : That Was An EMF Meter, Not A Geiger Counter

The man claimed in the viral video that he was using a radiation monitoring device. The truth is – he was just the ST1393 EMF Meter, which anyone can buy from Amazon for just $31.39. Here are other purchase options :

The ST1393 EMF meter is designed to detect and measure the electromagnetic radiation produced by magnetic and electric fields. It is not designed to detect nuclear radiation like alpha and beta particles, as well as gamma rays.

To detect ionising radiation from nuclear sources, he needs to use a Geiger counter, not an EMF meter.

As the manufacturer advertises, the ST1393 EMF testers is used to detect “electric field radiation” and “magnetic field emission” from mobile phones, hair dryer, computer, TV, printer, etc. It does NOT detect nuclear radiation!

Fact #3 : EMF Meter Likely Measured Static Electricity

In the video, the EMF meter was seen registering between 292 V/m and 441 V/m. That was the measurement of a static electric field, not nuclear radiation.

If you look closely, the meter says the unit is V/m (volts per meter), and the type is Electric Field. Nuclear radiation is measured in units like Becquerel (Bq) or Curie (Ci) or Sievert (Sv) or Rem (One Sv = 100 rem).

The EMF meter was very likely measuring the static electricity on the Japanese food product’s plastic polymer packaging. If the man tests other plastic packaging, he would likely register similar levels of static electricity.

In case you are worried about the “high” static electricity produced by Japanese food packaging, here are some common static electricity levels:

Natural electric field in atmosphere : 100 V/m
Electric field during thunderstorms : Up to several thousand V/m
Walking on non-conducting carpets : Up to 500,000 V/m
High voltage DC power lines : Up to 20,0000 V/m
Inside DC-powered electric trains : Up to 300 V/m

In other words – you do NOT need to worry about a few hundred volts per meter of static electricity!

Fact #3 : Induction Cooker Not Source Of Electric Field

Some sharp-eyed folks have pointed out that the man placed the Japanese food item on an induction cooker, and posited that the increase in electric field “radiation” was due to EM radiation from the induction cooker.

I have to point out that while it appears to be an induction cooker, it could potentially be a radiant cooker which come in similar designs, with a black glass top. You can only tell them apart when they are operating – the radiant cooker’s heating element will glow red.

In any case, an induction cooker works by inducing an electromagnetic field to transfer energy to a magnetic pan / pot. So the EMF meter should have registered a magnetic field as well.

Since the video showed no magnetic field, the induction cooker was not powered and would not have affected the results.

Fact #4 : EM Radiation Is Not Nuclear Radiation

Electromagnetic (EM) radiation is a form of radiation, but it is not the same as nuclear radiation.

EM radiation is wide-ranging, and includes everything from visible light to radio waves, microwaves, infrared to X-rays. It is emitted by everything from the sun to computers and smartphones.

Nuclear radiation, on the other hand, consists mainly of Alpha particles, Beta particles, and Gamma rays, that are produced as a result of a nuclear reaction, or radioactive decay.

It is like comparing bicycles with cars. They are both vehicles (radiation), but a bicycle (electromagnetic radiation) is different from a car (nuclear radiation). Getting hit by a bicycle is also a whole lot different than getting hit by a car!

Fact #5 : Japan Has Not Released Fukushima Wastewater

As of 16 July 2023, Japan has not released treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power station into the Pacific Ocean.

On Wednesday, 5 July 2023, the Nikkei newspaper reported that Japanese officials will start by explaining their plan to the local community and neighbouring countries, who are naturally concerned about the impact of the treated but still radioactive wastewater.

The soonest that Japan can reasonably start releasing the wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant is in August 2023. Therefore, the claim that Japan had already released radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant is false.

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

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

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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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Can Drinking Fermented Tea Prevent COVID-19?!

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Did new Chinese research prove that you can prevent COVID-19 infections by drinking fermented tea?!

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

Claim : Fermented Tea Can Prevent COVID-19!

This message has gone viral on WhatsApp and social media platforms, claiming that new Chinese research has proven that you can prevent COVID-19 infections by drinking fermented tea!

Chiayi Chang Gung Hospital, and China Medical University published: The so-called principle that drinking tea can prevent coronavirus is as follows:

Scientists put the virus into the tea water and let it stand for 1 minute~ They found that 90% of the virus in the tea water was killed. It can kill 100% if left for 3 minutes. Especially tea species with a high degree of fermentation (such as black tea/Taiwan oolong tea/Pu-erh cooked tea, etc.) have a good bactericidal effect~because the virus survives on the oral and nasal mucosa when it is just infected.

Drinking tea at this time can destroy the virus cell wall and flush the virus into gastric juice to kill the virus. There are tea products with high thearubigin content at home that can be drunk at any time after brewing~ As long as the tea leaves are less irritating, they can be drunk all day without causing headache/stomach pain or scraping of the stomach/tea that does not affect sleep can effectively prevent the epidemic.

Please share this information~ Drink more tea to help yourself and use kind knowledge to help others.

嘉义长庚医院、中国医科大学发表：所谓喝茶预防冠状病毒原理如下：科学家将病毒放入茶水中静置1分钟发现90%的病毒在茶水中被杀。如果放置3分钟，它可以杀死100％。尤其是发酵度高的茶种（如红茶/台湾乌龙茶/普洱熟茶等）有很好的杀菌作用因为病毒在刚感染时就存活在口腔和鼻粘膜上。这个时候喝茶，可以破坏病毒细胞壁，将病毒冲入胃液，杀灭病毒。家里有茶红素含量高的茶品，冲泡后可以随时饮用只要茶叶刺激性小，可以喝一整天，不会引起头痛/胃痛或擦伤胃/茶不影响睡眠可以有效预防疫情。请分享这个信息多喝茶帮助自己，用善良的知识帮助别人。

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Truth : Fermented Tea Cannot Prevent COVID-19!

This is yet another example of COVID-19 fake news circulating on WhatsApp and social media, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : No Evidence Of Such Research

First, let’s start with the fact that there is no evidence that the Chiayi Chang Gung Hospital, and the China Medical University – both from Taiwan, ever published joint research proving that drinking fermented tea can prevent COVID-19 infections.

Back in March 2020 (before COVID-19 vaccines and treatments were developed) researchers at the Chiayi Chang Gung Hospital’s Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine used a computer program to identify potential antiviral components in traditional plants.

They identified theaflavin – a polyphenolic compound found in black tea leaves, as a potential inhibitor of protease activity in the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Thearubigin mentioned in the viral message is an oxidation product of theaflavin.

The head of that research team, Wu Ching-yuan (吳清源), claimed that its antiviral effect was similar to remdesivir. But since its publication in March 2020, there has been no further development on using theaflavin to treat or prevent COVID-19.

Even remdesivir was found to be ineffective against COVID-19, with the WHO recommending against its use in November 2020.

In any case, the researchers did not even claim that drinking tea – whether black or fermented, can prevent COVID-19 infections.

Fact #2 : SARS-CoV-2 Is A Respiratory Virus

The SARS-CoV-2 virus is a respiratory virus, which means it primarily infects you through your respiratory system, and to a lesser extent – through your eyes.

Therefore, drinking hot water and drinks, even coffee or tea, has absolutely NO EFFECT on the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

This study identifies possible associations between COVID, the vaccine and the development of SJS/TEN.

We propose three theories for this seven-fold increase in case number; a virus induced, a vaccine induced and a threshold lowering pathway.

We advise future research investigates the impact viruses such as SARS-COV-2 have on immune mediated diseases such as SJS/TEN.

Fact #3 : COVID-19 Is A Virus, Not Bacteria

The viral message claims that highly-fermented tea like black tea, Taiwan oolong tea, Pu-erh kills the COVID-19 coronavirus, because they have “good bactericidal activity“.

This is like pointing out that water has good firefighting activity while recommending it for cleaning an oil spill… The creator of this fake news does not seem to understand that SARS-CoV-2 is a virus, not bacteria.

The viral message also wrongly claims that the COVID-19 coronavirus has cell walls. As a virus, SARS-CoV-2 does not have any cell wall. It only has a protective protein coat called a capsid.

Fact #4 : SARS-CoV-2 Is Sensitive To Temperature

It is no surprise that the SARS-CoV-2 virus is sensitive to temperature. This has been confirmed through numerous research early in the pandemic. You don’t even need boiling hot water or tea to kill it!

At normal room temperatures, 90% of the virus will be automatically destroyed / deactivated after 20-50 hours. But if you raise the temperature to just 54.5°C, the time is cut down to less than 1 hour!

Based on those research, conservatively, the COVID-19 coronavirus can be killed by simply heating contaminated objects for:

3 minutes at temperature above 75°C (160°F).
5 minutes for temperatures above 65°C (149°F).
20 minutes for temperatures above 60°C (140°F).

Needless to say, at 100°C, the virus is instantly destroyed. There is no need to leave the virus in boiling hot water / tea for 3 minutes to kill it, as the viral message claims.

Fact #5 : This Is Just COVID-19 Fake News

This is just another example of COVID-19 fake news circulating on WhatsApp and social media. Here are other recent examples:

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

Don’t forget to protect yourself, and your family, by vaccinating against COVID-19!

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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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Top Burger : How To Get This Game For FREE!

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Top Burger – a fast food simulation game – is FREE for a limited time!

Find out how to get it FREE, and make sure you tell your friends!

SUBSCRIBE to our Google News feed, Facebook page or Telegram channel to get these updates quickly!

Top Burger

Top Burger is an exciting fast food simulation game. You just opened a burger restaurant, let’s see if you can put together burgers fast enough to satisfy your ever growing number of customers!

The game also comes with many achievements and a “create your burger” mode which lets you build super high burgers, taking advantage of all the unlocked items.

More than 150 levels
Hours of gameplay
Three game modes
Dozens of types to deliver to your customers

Top Burger : How To Get It FREE!

This is a DRM-free game, and that means you do NOT need a special launcher or client (like Steam) to install and play it.

Adding To Your IndieGala Account

Go to the Top Burger page.
Scroll to the Get Top Burger section.
Click on Add To Your Library link.
You will be asked to log into your IndieGala account.
If you do not yet have an IndieGala account, you will need to register for one (it’s free!)
Once you add it to your library, you can download it at anytime.

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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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Can Vitamin C + Prawns Poison Us With Arsenic?!

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Will eating vitamin C and prawns on the same day create toxic arsenic which has already killed one woman?!

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

Claim : Eating Vitamin C + Prawns Will Poison Us With Arsenic!

People are sharing this message on WhatsApp and social media platforms, claiming that eating vitamin C and prawns on the same day can create toxic arsenic which has already killed one woman!

This is a long message, so feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!

Very Educative:

A woman suddenly died unexpectedly with signs of bleeding from her ears, nose, mouth & eyes. After a preliminary autopsy it was diagnosed that death was due to arsenic poisoning. Where did the arsenic come from?

The police launched an in-depth and extensive investigation. A medical school professor was invited to come to solve the case. The professor carefully looked at the contents. In less than half an hour, the mystery was solved.

The professor said: ‘The deceased did not commit suicide and neither was she murdered, she died of accidental death due to ignorance!’

Everyone was puzzled, why accidental death? The professor said: ‘The arsenic was produced in the stomach of the deceased.’ The deceased used to take ‘Vitamin C’ everyday, which in itself is not a problem.

The problem was that she ate a large portion of shrimp/prawn during dinner. Eating shrimp/prawn is not the problem that’s why nothing happened to her family even though they had the same shrimp/prawn. However at the same time the deceased also took ‘vitamin C’, that is where the problem was!

Researchers at the University of Chicago in the United States , found through experiments, food such as soft-shell contain much higher concentration of five potassium arsenic compounds.

Such fresh food by itself has no toxic effects on the human body.

However, in taking ‘vitamin C’, chemical reaction occurs and the original non-toxic elements change to toxic elements.

Arsenic poisoning has magma role and can cause paralysis to the small blood vessels. Therefore, a person who dies of arsenic poisoning will show signs of bleeding from the ears, nose, mouth & eyes. Thus as a precautionary measure,

DO NOT eat shrimp/prawn when taking ‘vitamin C’.

After reading this; please do not be stingy. It’s our duty to take care of our friends.
Pls share with then.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Prawns and Vit C cannot be eaten together.

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Here is an older version that has been going around since 2014:

This is a story that happened to the relative of a friend of mine. If you love your family and your friends, just tell them about this story.

There was a woman who suddenly died with blood coming from her eyes, ear, mouth, nose, skin and tongue. After the authorities investigated, they claimed she died of food poisoning.

Before she died, she ate a lot of shrimp, but so did the rest of her family and they didn’t die. It turns out that the problem was that she drank a liquid vitamin C supplement immediately after she ate the shrimp.

Basically, Shrimp contains an Arsenic Pentoxide (As2O5) and when she ate shrimp, she drank Vitamin C at the same time. This caused a chemical reaction in her stomach. The Arsenic Pentoxide (As2O5) in the shrimp become Arsenic Trioxide (As2O3), which was very poisonous. Her heart, liver, kidneys, and blood vessels failed, and she died from massive blood loss.

So, be careful if you eat shrimp. Wait a few hours before you take Vitamin C. Don’t allow vitamin C and shrimp to occupy your stomach at the same time.

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Truth : Eating Vitamin C + Prawns Will Not Poison Us With Arsenic!

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

Fact #1 : This Is An Old Hoax

The claim that eating prawns together with vitamin C can poison you with arsenic isn’t new. It’s been circulating on email since at least 2001, before being shared on WhatsApp and social media in more recent years.

Fact #2 : Hoax Is Based On Actual Research

While many fact checkers immediately dismissed this as fake news, I need to point out that this hoax is based on actual research by the University of Illinois.

In 1985, three researchers in the University of Illinois’ animal sciences department reported that they unexpectedly found that vitamin C and cysteine can convert harmless arsenic pentoxide into strongly poisonous arsenic trioxide.

The unexpected finding by Gail Czarnecki, David Baker and John Garst concerns the way molecules of arsenic compounds are constructed. If atoms within the compounds share five electrons with neighboring atoms, they are said to be ”pentavalent” and are fairly harmless.

Several foods, especially shrimp and prawns, may contain high concentrations of such arsenic compounds. What the Illinois researchers found is that high doses of vitamin C convert the pentavalent compounds into trivalent arsenic, a highly toxic poison.

Cysteine, a chemical sometimes given as a treatment for heavy metal poisoning, also converts arsenic to the trivalent, highly toxic form.

That said, I have to point out that this research does not appear to have been published. None of the three scientists listed any paper on vitamin C’s effect on arsenic compounds:

While that does not mean that they were wrong about their findings, I should also point out that this finding does not appear to have been confirmed or even reviewed by other scientists / researchers.

Fact #3 : Risk Is Not Limited To Prawns / Shrimps

The researchers did not say that eating prawns / shrimps while consuming vitamin C can kill you through arsenic poisoning. They merely pointed out that shellfish, particularly prawns and shrimps, “may” contain high levels of normally harmless arsenic pentoxide.

In other words – any food that contains high levels of arsenic pentoxide can present with these risks. Not just prawns or shrimps. Common foods that contain higher amounts of arsenic include rice, Brussel sprouts, chicken, mushrooms, beer and wine.

Fact #4 : Risk Involves High Doses Of Vitamin C

The researchers also pointed out that the risk of harmless arsenic in food being converted to poisonous arsenic trioxide involves high doses of vitamin C – megadosing with vitamin C, as they called it.

Normal consumption of vitamin C would not convert sufficient amounts of arsenic to make a difference.

Fact #5 : Danger Was Long-Term Cancer Risk

Finally, the researchers never said that eating prawns / shrimps while taking megadoses of vitamin C can kill you with arsenic poisoning. They were worried about “chronic exposure” to arsenic which is carcinogenic, and can cause cancer if exposed for a long time.

Chronic exposure to arsenic is known to cause cancer in humans. We now must wonder whether megadosing with vitamin C increases the risk of cancer by changing the form of arsenic in food.

Fact #6 : Acute Arsenic Poisoning Does Not Present That Way

You can die if you consume too much arsenic, but you won’t die bleeding from your ears, nose, mouth and ears.

Acute arsenic poisoning presents with diarrhoea and stomach pain, cramps and vomiting (with or without blood), blood in the urine, and convulsions.

I should point out that there is no known case of anyone dying from arsenic poisoning after consuming both vitamin C and prawns / shrimps.

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

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

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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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Can Restaurant Menu QR Code Hack Your Phone?!

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Did the FBI just warn people to avoid using the restaurant menu QR code, because it can hack your phone?!

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

Claim : FBI Says Restaurant QR Code Can Hack Your Phone!

People are sharing a Daily Mail article, or screenshots of it, which claims that the FBI just warned people not to use any restaurant menu QR code because it can allow hackers to steal your data!

Here is an excerpt from the Daily Mail article. Feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!

Why you should ALWAYS ask for a physical menu: FBI warns hackers are planting fake QR CODES in restaurants that steal your data when you click the link

Scammers are making fake QR codes to place on top of real ones
This is letting them access smartphones and steal personal data

QR codes have become the new default for accessing restaurant menus across the US post-Covid — but scammers are seizing upon the new practice.

The FBI warns thieves are creating fake QR codes and planting them at eateries, retail shops and even parking meters.

Instead of taking you to an online menu or checkout, the links instantly download malware onto your device, stealing your location and personal information

The FBI has urged consumers to look out for typos or misplaced letters in URLs accessed through QR codes and ask restaurants for a physical menu.

Truth : FBI Did Not Say Restaurant QR Code Can Hack Your Phone!

This appears to be a “misunderstanding” of an actual FBI warning about QR codes. Here is what you need to know about the risks of scanning a QR code for a restaurant menu.

Fact #1 : FBI Issued QR Code Warning In January 2022

I could find no reference to a recent QR code warning by the FBI, and oddly enough, The Daily Mail did not provide a source or link to the FBI warning its article was referring to.

The FBI only released one public service announcement (PSA) about QR codes, and that was Alert Number 1-011822-PSA which was released on January 18, 2022.

If that was the source for the Daily Mail article, then it’s more than a year old, and not recent as the article appears to suggest.

Fact #2 : FBI Warned About General QR Code Risk

The FBI advisory was a general warning about the risks of tampered QR codes. Specifically, it warned about cybercriminals tampering with both digital and physical QR codes.

The FBI is issuing this announcement to raise awareness of malicious Quick Response (QR) codes. Cybercriminals are tampering with QR codes to redirect victims to malicious sites that steal login and financial information.

Cybercriminals tamper with both digital and physical QR codes to replace legitimate codes with malicious codes. A victim scans what they think to be a legitimate code but the tampered code directs victims to a malicious site…

Fact #3 : FBI Advisory Did Not Mention Restaurant / Menu

Interestingly, the entire FBI advisory did not once mention restaurants or menus, and that makes a lot of sense.

It is odd to focus on the risk of using QR codes for online menus in restaurants, when they are used in so many other ways today – from making mobile payments, as mobile tickets, login tokens, etc.

Any security risk involving restaurant menu QR codes would also apply to QR codes used for other purposes. So it really doesn’t make sense for the FBI to “pick on” restaurant menu QR codes.

Fact #4 : QR Code Is Not Malicious In Nature

QR code (which is short for Quick Response code) is not nefarious or malicious in nature. The FB advisory specifically pointed that out – “QR codes are not malicious in nature“.

The QR code is merely a type of two dimensional barcode that was invented in 1994 by the Japanese company, Denso Wave, to track automotive parts. It has since been adopted for other purposes because it is more efficient and can support more than just numbers. For example, Version 40 QR code can contain up to 7,089 numbers or 4,296 characters.

Ultimately, a QR code is nothing more than a series of numbers or characters – data which can be used for a variety of purposes, including providing a link to an online restaurant menu.

Fact #5 : QR Code Can Be Tampered With

It is true that QR codes can be tampered with. In fact, the FBI advisory was issued after Texas police departments discovered fraudulent QR code stickers on parking meters in San Antonio and Austin. Drivers who scanned those fake QR codes were taken to a scam website. instead of the real payment website.

Hence, the FBI issued that warning to remind people to check the URL link to make sure that it is the intended website, and not a phishing page with a similar link. For example, the fake website may use www.quikpay.com when the real website is www.quickpay.com.

To completely avoid this risk, avoid using QR code to access a payment website. Always go directly to the payment website on your smartphone’s web browser by keying in the link yourself. Genuine payment labels with a QR code will often include a direct URL link for you to use as a safer alternative.

Recommended : How To Block Facebook Ads + Pay Scammers!

Fact #6 : Restaurant Menu QR Code Is Low Risk

While scammers can place fraudulent QR codes over genuine ones at restaurants, bars, and other eateries, this is a very unlikely attack vector.

That’s because restaurants often use QR codes to redirect you to an online system to order food and drinks for your table. Imagine if you scan a fraudulent QR code and are asked to key in your credit card details. That would be absurd, and you would surely complain to the waiter since you haven’t even ordered your food!

In most cases, you are not expected to pay at the table using QR code. You either pay using cash / credit card / mobile payment using QR code at the payment counter. Even if that QR code is compromised, the cashier would notice it immediately as any payment made using that QR code would not reflect in the restaurant’s point-of-sale (POS) system.

And payment only occurs after dining – a fraudulent QR code that leads you to a fake website won’t allow you to actually order anything, since it’s not connected to the real restaurant and its ordering system. That’s why this attack vector is highly improbable.

In any case, many restaurants now generate temporary QR codes on disposable paper stubs to avoid this risk. The QR code is only valid for your dining session. The next person to dine at the same table will receive a different QR code.

Fact #7 : QR Code Can Potentially Inject Malware

It is possible for QR code to inject malware into the smartphone that you are using to scan. In fact, there are apps like QRGen that allow scammers / hackers to easily generate malicious QR codes. However, it isn’t quite as simple as the article makes it out to be.

For one thing – malware and exploits are limited to specific operating systems or phone models. For example, an Android exploit / malware won’t work on iPhones. Or an exploit / malware that makes use of an Android 11 vulnerability won’t work on newer / updated Android smartphones since they would have patched the exploit.

Second – any malware will require considerable amounts of code to load. The scammer / hacker will have to use an enormous QR code like the version 40 example below, or it will need to convince you to download and install the malware package itself.

Genuine restaurant menu QR codes are simple – like the version 1 / version 10 examples above, because they only serve a link to their online menu / ordering system. If you see a large and complex QR code like the version 40 example, avoid scanning it, and ask the restaurant staff to verify its authenticity.

Restaurant menu QR codes would also never ask you to download or install anything. They only serve to load a link to an online menu / ordering system, so if you are asked to download or install anything, do NOT proceed, and notify the restaurant.

These tips also apply to other businesses that use QR codes to show you a menu, discounts, offers, information, etc.

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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.

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Was Human Meat Found In McDonald’s Factories?!

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Did US meat inspectors find human meat in several McDonald’s factories across the United States?!

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

Claim : Human Meat Found In McDonald’s Factories!

People are sharing a video which purportedly shows meat inspectors discovering human meat in McDonald’s factories across the United States. Here is a transcript of the video :

Oklahoma City – first, horse meat, then the mysterious “pink slime”. Now, human meat?

A shocking discovery has been made in an Oklahoma City McDonald’s meat factory and other McDonald’s meat factories nationwide.

Meat inspectors reportedly found, what appeared to be, human meat stored in the meat factory freezers of an Oklahoma City meat factory, and human meat already in trucks right outside the factory ready to be shipped to McDonald’s restaurants.

Health inspectors immediately demanded inspection in various McDonald’s meat factories across the country, and horrifyingly found human meat in about 90% of the factories inspected thus far.

The USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) has seized McDonald’s production and shipping, and will call for more meat factory inspections, and restaurant inspections.

The FBI is also investigating the factories. FBI agent Lloyd Harrison told Huzler reporters “The worst part is that it’s not only human meat, it’s child meat. The body parts that were found across the US factories were deemed too small to be adult body parts.”

The situation brings up many unanswered questions. How long have they been using human meat? Where did they get the children from? Were they already dead when brought into factories?

Investigators and inspectors are currently being deployed for intensive investigations all around the US. Here is another clip, when earlier McDonalds was caught!

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Did US meat inspectors find human meat in several McDonald's factories across the US?! 😱😱

Here is my FACT CHECK : https://t.co/wlnVyzitQm #TechARP #McDonalds #Food #FoodSafety #Meat #Human #Crime #FBI #Children #Facts #FactsMatter #FactCheck #Fake #FakeNews #Viral #TikTok pic.twitter.com/dMxq6RQCYk

— Dr. Adrian Wong (@AdrianTechARP) May 4, 2023

Truth : No Human Meat Was Ever Found In McDonald’s Factories!

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

Fact #1 : No Human Meat Was Ever Found In McDonald’s Factories

Let me be very clear – no human meat was ever found in McDonald’s factories or restaurants.

If this actually happened, it would have been worldwide news, and McDonald’s would have been shut down for good. Many McDonald’s executives and their suppliers would also face criminal charges.

Yet, there has been ZERO mention of this on any legitimate news website. There is also no mention of such an incredible find in any USDA or FBI press releases.

Needless to say, McDonald’s factories and restaurants continue to operate normally. That’s because this never happened. No human meat was ever found in McDonald’s factories or restaurants.

Fact #2 : Human Meat Patty Picture Was From Resident Evil 6 Promo!

The pictures of “human meat” used in the fake video was misappropriated from a Resident Evil 6 promo in London.

Back in September 2012, Capcom created a pop-up butchery called Wesker & Son (Wholesale Meats) in Smithfield Meat Market.

Once at the butchery, members of the public will be invited to sample and purchase a dizzying array of edible human limbs including hands, feet and a human head, which will be available to buy directly from the shop.

As well as these specially created products, gamers will be able to buy ‘Peppered Human & Lemon Sausages’ and ‘J’avo Caught Human Thigh Steaks’ along with some specially made pots of Red Herb and Green Herb.

All proceeds from the sale of the meat will be donated to the Limbless Association, which provides information and support to the limb-loss community.

Fact #3 : Story Was Created By A Fake News Website

This fake story created by a content aggregation (copy and paste) website called Huzlers, that also creates fake stories to go viral. This particular Huzlers article was written by Pablo Reyes Jr, and published on April 7, 2014 – more than 9 years ago!

To give their fake story a “veneer of satire”, they added a tagline below the writer’s name – “Believe half of what you see and nothing you read online“.

The truth is – they intentionally created the fake story to trigger you into sharing their article, so they can go viral and make money from the increased page views.

Fact #4 : McDonald’s Sells Billions Of Burgers Every Year

Let me just point out that McDonald’s sells over a billion pounds of meat every year, just in the United States. That means their suppliers have to slaughter thousands of cows every day to keep up with the demand.

Children are much smaller than cows. Those suppliers would need to slaughter tens of thousands of children a day to replace the cows. Does that really make sense to you?

The American continent would run out of children to slaughter within a year! And how does killing children for burgers make economic sense, never mind common sense?

Fact #5 : Pink Slime No Longer Used In McDonald’s Food

The fake story and video used a picture of pink slime, claiming that it was also used in McDonald’s foods.

That’s also false, because by the time the fake story was written (in 2014), McDonald’s stopped using “pink slime”, which is really Lean Finely Textured Beef (LFTB).

Q : Have you ever used so-called ‘pink slime’ in your burgers?

A : Yes, we used Lean Finely Textured Beef between 2004 and 2011. We do not use this today.

Despite its gross sounding name and look, LFTB is simply beef that has been separated from the fat in beef trimmings. LFTB technology recovers meat that would otherwise be wasted and thrown away.

Think of LFTB as low-fat beef paste. Regular ground beef consists of about 30% fat, while LFTB only has about 5% fat.

Fact #6 : Pink Slime Picture Not From McDonald’s Factory

The picture used in the fake story and video isn’t from a McDonald’s factory. However, it should be pointed out that LFTB looks like that – pink-coloured paste.

The pink colour comes from the ammonia hydroxide – an antimicrobial agent used to treat LFTB and prevent bacterial growth.

Fact #7 : Ammonia In LFTB Isn’t Toxic

Even though McDonald’s no longer uses “pink slime” in their burgers, I should point out that the amount of ammonia used in LFTB isn’t dangerous.

The amount of ammonia present in Lean Finely Textured Beef (LFTB) is actually comparable to ammonia levels present in existing foods :

Food	Ammonia Level
American Cheese	813 ppm
Unblended LFTB	400-500 ppm
Ketchup	411 ppm
Onions	342 ppm
Blended Beef Patty with 15% LFTB	200 ppm
Ground Beef	101 ppm

Everything published by Huzlers should be regarded as FAKE NEWS, until proven otherwise.

Please help us fight fake news websites like Huzlers – SHARE this fact check out, and SUPPORT our work!

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

Name : Adrian Wong
Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
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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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Ethylene Oxide Found In Mi Sedaap Noodles Too!

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The Malaysia Ministry of Health (KKM) just announced that the carcinogenic ethylene oxide was also found in Mi Sedaap instant noodles! Here is what you need to know…

KKM Orders Recall Of Two Ah Lai + Indomie Instant Noodles

On Monday, 24 April 2023, the Taipei Department of Health announced that found the presence of carcinogenic ethylene oxide in “Ah Lai White Curry Noodles” from Malaysia, and “Indomie : Special Chicken Flavour” noodles from Indonesia.

Both instant noodles were ordered to be taken off the shelves, and its importers fined between NT$60,000 (US$1,960) and NT$200 million (US$6.5 million).

On 26 April, the Malaysia Ministry of Health (KKM) announced that its tests of Ah Lai White Curry Noodles samples showed that they comply with local legislation. However, to “ensure the continuous food safety control”, the Ministry ordered the voluntary recall of all “Ah Lai White Curry Noodles” batches that expire on 25 August 2023.

KKM also ordered the voluntary recall of all Indomie : Special Chicken Flavour noodles, and incoming batches will be tested before release at entry points into Malaysia.

KKM : Ethylene Oxide Found In Mi Sedaap Noodles Too!

KKM also informed the public that after all Mi Sedaap instant noodles produced in Indonesia were withdrawn in 2022 because they were found to contain ethylene oxide, its Food Safety and Quality Department had been conducting continuous monitoring of food sold in Malaysia, whether produced locally, or imported.

KKM shared that in its surveillance of 36 samples of instant noodles of various brands from 2022 until today, 11 samples of Mi Sedaap instant noodles were found to contain ethylene oxide, and enforcement action was taken, which may include issuing compounds, court action, as well as product recalls.

Last year, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) also ordered a recall of two Mi Sedaap instant noodles flavours – Korean Spicy Chicken and Korean Spicy Soup, with expiry dates of March 17 2023 and May 21 2023, due to the presence of ethylene oxide.

Those two products, fortunately, did not appear to have been imported into Malaysia, according to KKM.

The Risk Of Ethylene Oxide In Instant Noodles

At room temperature, ethylene oxide is a flammable colourless gas, with a sweet odour. It is often used as a pesticide and sterilising agent, but is considered a health risk if remnants remain on the food products.

The US EPA considers ethylene oxide to be carcinogenic to humans by the “inhalation route”, with exposure linked to an increased risk of lymphoid cancer, and breast cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies ethylene oxide as a Class 1 carcinogen. Due to its carcinogenic properties, the EU sets the limit for ethylene oxide very low, at just 0.02 mg/kg.

Over the years, ethylene oxide has been detected in instant noodles from different brands, which is why regular tests are important to make sure they remain below acceptable limits.

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Toxic Ethylene Oxide Found In Two Instant Noodles!

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Two instant noodles were just withdrawn after they were identified to contain toxic and carcinogenic ethylene oxide!

Toxic Ethylene Oxide Found In Two Instant Noodles!

On Monday, 24 April 2023, the Taipei Department of Health released the results of its 2023 inspection of instant noodles available in Taipei, in which it found that two types of instant noodles from Malaysia and Indonesia were found to contain the toxic and carcinogenic ethylene oxide.

In its statement, the Taipei Department of Health stated that a batch of “Ah Lai White Curry Noodles” from Malaysia, and a batch of “Indomie : Special Chicken Flavour” noodles from Indonesia both contain ethylene oxide – a chemical compound associated with lymphoma and leukaemia.

Tests conducted by the department detected ethylene oxide in both the noodles and the flavour packet of “Ah Lai White Curry Noodles“, but only in the flavour packet of “Indomie : Special Chicken Flavour” noodles.

Both instant noodles were ordered to be taken off the shelves, and its importers fined between NT$60,000 (US$1,960) and NT$200 million (US$6.5 million).

Chen Yi-ting (陳怡婷), who heads the Taipei Department of Health’s Food and Drug Division, said that they conducted the instant noodles inspection in the city by randomly selecting 30 products from supermarkets, convenience stores, hypermarkets, traditional wet markets, Southeast Asian food shops and wholesale importers.

On 26 April 2023, the Malaysia Ministry of Health (KKM) ordered a recall of both instant noodles. It also announced that ethylene oxide was found in 11 samples of the Mi Sedaap instant noodles earlier.

The Risk Of Ethylene Oxide In Instant Noodles

Over the years, ethylene oxide has been detected in instant noodles from different brands, which is why regular tests are important to make sure they remain below acceptable limits.

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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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Did US Send 7000 Insects To Destroy Crops In China?!

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Did the US try to send 7,000 Drosophila insects into China to destroy their crops?!

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

Claim : US Sent 7,000 Insects To Destroy Crops In China!

People are sharing a video of a Chinese news report about Chinese custom officials discovering 66 containers of some 7,000 insects in a parcel shipped from the US.

They allege that this is evidence of American sabotage – that the US sent those insects to destroy crops in China. The video is often shared with such messages :

The video showed China🇨🇳 Port Custom, checked a luggage claimed to contain clothing. But when scanned through & upon suspicion, Custom Officers opened up the bag. They found there were more than 60 bottles containing the larvae of Drosophila, some 7k of it. If these bottles of larvae Drosophila were successfully smuggled into China & the matured Drosophila spread throughout the whole China. It will destroy all the fruits plantation/orchards. The matured ones multiplies & spread very fast. The luggage is from USA🇺🇸. The acts of inhumanity in infecting & destroying China🇨🇳 food chain. Evilness knows no boundries.

Did the US try to send 7,000 fruit flies into China to destroy their crops?! 😲🤔

Here is my fact check : https://t.co/plL00Op2DC #TechARP #China #UnitedStates #Wumao #Propaganda #Controversy #Agriculture #Crops #Food #Safety #Danger #Facts #FactsMatter #FactCheck #FakeNews pic.twitter.com/ue90TcI1mw

— Dr. Adrian Wong (@DrAdrianWong) April 20, 2023

China customs found 7000 insects sent from the USA. Out to destroy crops in China.

An evil country on the way down trying to pull others down too with sickening and rather despicable tactics !
🤬🤬🤬

In addition to claiming that these insects are dangerous to crops, some pro-CCP or Chinese-sponsored websites are promoting the claim that these insects had their genes edited to become “more infectious”, like a “super mosquito”.

They also point out that each of these insects can reproduce every 10 days, laying 400 eggs in their lifetime to quickly produce a swarm that will destroy fruits in China, by corrupting them with bacteria and fungi.

Truth : US Did Not Send 7,000 Insects To Destroy Crops In China!

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

Fact #1 : The Incident Happened In July 2022

First, let us establish what we know about this case.

Sometime in early July 2022, Qingdao customs officers examined a package sent from the United States. Its declaration form claimed that the parcel contained clothes.

When they opened it up, they found two pieces of clothes inside, with 66 sealed tubes containing eggs, larvae, pupae and adult insects.

After analysing them, Qingdao custom officers estimated that the 66 tubes contained roughly 7,000 fruit flies, specifically of the species Drosophila melanogaster.

Fact #2 : Drosophila megalogaster Is Present Worldwide

Drosophila melanogaster is known as the common fruit fly, which is commonly present across the world. Yes, this fruit fly is already present in China.

Despite originating in Africa – it is now present on all continents across the world, including islands.

Fact #3 : Drosophila megalogaster Can Lay Up To 2,000 Eggs

The Chinese media promoting this story can’t even get their facts right, claiming that these fruit flies lay up to 400 eggs in their lifetime.

Drosophila melanogaster females are far more productive than that – they can lay up to 100 eggs a day, and up to 2,000 eggs in a lifetime.

Fact #4 : Drosophila megalogaster Do Not Cause Fruits To Rot

Drosophila melanogaster is not an economic pest, even though no one welcomes them in their home.

It is often confused with Tephritidae – a different family of insects that are also called fruit flies, some of which are economic pests that destroy fruits.

Unlike Tephritidae fruit flies, Drosophila melanogaster do not destroy fruits. They are attracted to fruit that is already rotting, but do not cause fruits to rot.

The claims that the US sent Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies to destroy crops in China is nonsense.

Fact #5 : Drosophila megalogaster Is Commonly Used For Research

Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies are very popular in scientific research, for many reasons :

they are easy and cheap to care for, requiring little equipment and space
they have a rapid life cycle of 10 days, allowing several generations to be studied in a few weeks
each female can produce many offspring, laying up to 2,000 eggs in its lifetime
they have simple genetics, with only four pairs of chromosomes
their genome was completely sequenced and published in the year 2000

Scientists do not mention this as a reason for using Drosophila melanogaster, but I think it is important to note that it is not a pest, so accidental release of these fruit flies would not pose any danger of any form or kind.

Fact #6 : Drosophila megalogaster Is Commonly Shipped Worldwide

Because it is a model organism for research, Drosophila melanogaster is bred and shipped internationally to researchers worldwide.

The College of Agriculture and Life Science at Cornell University, for example, breeds and sells Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies, which they ship internationally including China.

Fact #7 : 2021 Seized Shipment Was Meant For Chinese Research Institute

This wasn’t the first time China seized live Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies in such tubes.

In June 2021, Chinese custom officials found 58 tubes containing more than 1,000 of these fruit flies in an imported parcel addressed to a Chinese research institute.

They seized the parcel because its contents were not declared, and it lacked an import permit.

Fact #8 : China Requires Quarantine For Live Insects

China forbids live insects from being mailed or carried into the country, without special quarantine or approval.

However, quarantine is a problem for Drosophila melanogaster because it has such a short lifespan of just 50 days.

Hence, it is possible that Chinese researchers are trying to circumvent the quarantine by importing live Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies, without an import permit which would require quarantine.

It is also possible that these fruit flies are being imported as a live food source for people’s pet fish, frogs and other animals.

Fact #9 : Cornell University Warned About Chinese Import Permit

Cornell University specifically warned Chinese researchers trying to purchase these fruit flies that :

As of November 1, 2014, we can only offer free replacements for shipments of live flies to China that were accompanied by an import permit.

That suggests that they lost shipments to China in the past, because they lacked import permits.

Fact #10 : This Is Chinese Propaganda

This is really nothing more than yet another example of Chinese propaganda created by the infamous Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛).

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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Eu Yan Sang Brown Rice Powder Recall Over Toxins!

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Two batches of the Eu Yan Sang Brown Rice Si Shen powder have been recalled over high levels of aflatoxin B1 and arsenic!

SFA Orders Recall Of Eu Yan Sang Brown Rice Powder!

On March 29 2023, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) ordered the recall of two batches of the Eu Yan Sang Brown Rice Si Shen powder, after it detected excessive levels of aflatoxin B1 and arsenic.

This is of utmost concern, as the Eu Yan Sang Brown Rice Si Shen Powder was marketed as a natural herbal blend for young children transiting from liquid to solid feed. According to Eu Yan Sang, it is a preparation of brown rice powder, Chinese yam, lotus seeds, Poria (China root), Barley and Euryale Seeds.

The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) has detected aflatoxin B1 and arsenic in samples of Eu Yan Sang’s Brown Rice Si Shen powder at levels exceeding the maximum limit stated in the Singapore Food Regulations.

SFA has directed the manufacturer, Eu Yan Sang (Singapore) Pte Ltd, to recall two affected batches of the product.

Arsenic is a heavy metal found naturally in the earth’s crust and in the environment. Aflatoxins can occur in foods, as a result of fungal contamination before and after harvest under warm and humid conditions. Long term intake of aflatoxins can cause cancer and liver damage, while long term intake of arsenic can cause cancer and skin changes. Hence, exposure through food, especially those meant for young children, should be kept as low as possible.

Consumers who have purchased the implicated products are advised not to feed it to their children. Those whose children have consumed the implicated products and have concerns about their children’s health should seek medical advice. Consumers may contact their point of purchase for enquiries.

Only Two Batches Of Eu Yan Sang Brown Rice Powder Were Recalled

I need to point out that only two batches of the Eu Yan Sang Brown Rice Si Shen Powder were recalled over excessive levels of aflatoxin B1 and arsenic.

Product name: Eu Yan Sang’s Brown Rice Si Shen powder

Batch No: 120
Expiry date: 13 May 2024

Batch No: 121
Expiry date: 17 May 2024

Country of origin: Singapore

Those who have these two batches should stop consuming them, and contact Eu Yan Sang , or the store they purchased it from, for a refund.

Danger Of Aflatoxin + Arsenic In Eu Yan Sang Brown Rice Powder

SFA did not reveal the detected levels of aflatoxin B1 and arsenic in those two batches of the Eu Yan Sang Brown Rice Si Shen Powder, only that they exceeded the maximum limit set in the Singapore Food Regulations.

Aflatoxins are toxins produced by some types of moulds that can contaminate crops before and after harvest. Aflatoxin B1 is the most potent toxin and is regarded as a Class 1 carcinogen, which means it can cause cancer if consumed over an extended amount of time.

Arsenic is a heavy metal that is naturally present in rice, and therefore, all products made with rice. Long-term intake of high levels of arsenic may lead to cancer and other health problems.

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Are Rohingyas using chemicals to freshen old vegetables to sell?!

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Are Rohingyas using chemicals to make old vegetables look fresh, so they can sell to unsuspecting customers?!

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

Claim : Rohingyas Use Chemicals To Freshen Old Vegetables For Sale!

People are sharing a video of a man showing how he freshens old vegetables by dipping them into a chemical solution, so he can sell them as fresh vegetables!

The video has gone viral on social media, and is being shared on WhatsApp with messages like these:

The Rohingas population there is huge and they sell veggies like that
I’ve been to selayang market with H

Rohingas are protected by the UNCHR. They even have a big international school

The Rohingas do not buy the veggies

The foreigners and Malaysians buy the veggies
Especially the small biz people
Because it’s cheap

Watch how vegetables are made fresh by using chemicals in 105 seconds. That’s why arbuda (cancer) is growing. In 105 seconds, vegetables and fruits are freshened by cancer-causing chemicals.

THIS TECHNIQUE IS USED BY THE ROHINGYAS IN SELAYANG MARKETS WHO SOLD VEGETABLE ON THE ROADSIDES.

Are Rohingya refugees using chemicals to turn old vegetables into fresh vegetables?! 😱

Here is my fact check : https://t.co/J4pUhR2wNi #TechARP #Rohingya #Vegetable #Chemical #Food #FoodSafety #Safety #Danger #Facts #FactCheck #Hoax #Fake #FakeNews #Agriculture #Viral #Video pic.twitter.com/XUNFL7H0ul

— Dr. Adrian Wong (@AdrianTechARP) March 29, 2023

Claim : Rohingyas Are Not Using Chemicals To Freshen Old Vegetables!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created and propagated by people to cast aspersions on the marginalised Rohingyas who are refugees in Malaysia, and many other countries, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : This Is An Old + Edited Video

First, let me just point out that this is an old video that was edited for length, from its original run time of 4 minutes 7 seconds to just 1 minutes 42 seconds.

The earliest version appeared to have been uploaded to YouTube on 23 July 2021, by a Telugu channel called Mana Family Trends. Back then, it went viral on WhatsApp as well.

The shorter edited video first appeared on LinkedIn in middle of March 2023. It went viral there, and was reposted to Twitter on Friday, 17 March 2023, where it blew up.

Fact #2 : Original Video Did Not Refer To Rohingyas

The original video, and the newer but shorter video, did not refer to the Rohingyas in their description or titles.

See how dried leafy vegetables are made by dipping them in chemicals / వాడిపోయిన ఆకు కూరలు కెమికల్లో ముంచితె ఎలా తయారవుతున్నాయో చూడండి

This is 105 sec live video of how vegetables and fruits are freshened by washing them in chemicals. In just a minute, the vegetables look fresh. This is the reason for the increase in critical illnesses nowadays.

A two minute real life horror story. 😱

Fact #3 : The Video Was Recorded In India

The video was recorded in India, and not Malaysia. So it has absolutely nothing to do with the Rohingya refugees here in Malaysia.

Fact #4 : It Appears To Be A Spreader Sticker Activator Demonstration

The video does not show farmers freshening their old vegetables by dipping them into a chemical bath.

Rather, the video appears to show a salesperson from an agrochemical company demonstrating the wetting effect of a spreader sticker activator.

Spreader sticker activator is meant to be mixed with other chemicals, because it is inert and works as an adjuvant (see Fact #5). Therefore, you won’t see anyone dip their produce into the spreader sticker activator, as seen in the viral video, except in demonstrations like this.

Fact #5 : Many Agrochemical Products Contain Spreader Sticker Activator

Spreader Sticker Activator is a silicone-based chemical compound that is mixed with pesticides, herbicides or fertilisers to boost their performance by:

reducing surface tension, to allow for rapid wetting and absorption
improving the adhesion of those chemicals
opening the pores for faster absorption

By using a sticker spreader activator, you can use less chemicals and yet, they are more effective and last longer, saving you money. Hence, many agrochemical products already come with sticker spreader activator mixed in as an adjuvant.

Fact #6 : Spreader Sticker Activators Are Considered Biologically Inert

Spreader sticker activators are considered to be biologically inert, and are therefore not registered by the US EPA. There is also no OSHA hazard classification.

There is currently no evidence that spreader sticker activators can cause cancer, or any other disease.

That said, its safety profile is based on the fact that only a small amount is mixed with other chemicals. It is not meant to be applied alone to plants, never mind used to soak them.

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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Did US Steal Instant Noodles From Earthquake Victims?!

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

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

Claim : US Stole Instant Noodles From Earthquake Victims!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fact #1 : Viral Photo Was Taken In Turkey

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

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

Fact #2 : US Soldiers Were Delivering Aid In Turkey

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fact #3 : Indomie Instant Noodles Were Produced In Turkey

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

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

Hazir Noodle : Instant Noodles

Yerli Üretim : Domestic Production

Bardak : Cup [Noodles]

Sebzeli Hazir Noodle : Vegetarian Instant Noodles

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

Fact #4 : US Military Helped To Deliver Aid

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

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

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

Fact #5 : This Is Just Chinese Propaganda

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

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

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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 American Racist Gang Attack Chinese Business?!

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Did an organised gang of American racists just attack a Chinese business in the United States?!

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

Claim : American Racist Gang Attacked Chinese Business!

People are sharing this video of a gang of hooded individuals ransacking a Chinese business establishment in the United States, as an example of hate crime by American racists against Asians and the Chinese in particular.

Organised gangs in US destroy Asian owned businesses

Did American racists attack Fish Village, because it's an Asian / Chinese restaurant?! 🤔

Here are the facts : https://t.co/92tXggFCWn #TechARP #UnitedStates #Racism #HateCrime #Asian #Crime #Criminal #NewYorkCity #Queens #Wumao #Chinese #Facts #FactCheck #Business #Viral pic.twitter.com/yHddWmg0XU

— Dr. Adrian Wong (@AdrianTechARP) March 9, 2023

No Evidence American Racist Gang Attacked Chinese Business!

This video has gone viral on WeChat and WhatsApp, which are commonly used by Chinese netizens and the Chinese diaspora. It has also been posted on social media platforms like TikTok, Facebook, and Twitter.

This incident happened very recently, and is a developing story, but here is what we know so far…

Fact #1 : Viral Incident Happened On March 4, 2023

Let’s start with some basic facts on what happened.

At around 8:20 PM on March 4, 2023, a group of about 20 masked individuals took an elevator to the third floor of a corner mall in College Point, Queens, New York City.

Wearing masks and hoodie sweatshirts, they stormed into the Fish Village restaurant, flipping tables and chairs smashing dishes and utensils, while customers were eating. They also broke a window during the minute-long mayhem.

They then quickly left the Fish Village restaurant, as quickly as they entered. The attackers did not use weapons, or take any property with them.

Fortunately, no one was hurt in the incident, but restaurant manager Tony Hu said that they suffered about $20,000 worth of damages. The restaurant also have to comp the 30 or so customers who had their dinners so rudely interrupted.

From the time they entered to the time they left, it only took a minute. They didn’t say a word. We have no idea what was happening. I was behind the register and was in shock. Then I ran to call 911, but by the time I got through, they were already gone.

Fact #2 : Attackers Were Asian / Hispanic Teenagers

While some people are claiming that this was evidence of a hate crime by White racists or black hooligans attacking Asian / Chinese businesses, that’s not true according to the restaurant manager, Tony Hu.

Hu, who does not speak English, told CBS News that the attackers were Asian or Hispanic teenagers. Some people even labelled them as “kids in hoodies”, while others pointed out that it does not appear to be a hate crime:

I frequent this building, it has a bunch of high end Chinese restaurants, hotel, has a gated parking lot and this restaurant is on the 3rd floor

Makes me think it is a targeted attack, not a random flash mob

Other people suggest that the attack may have been a warning by Asian organised crime.

Big Trouble in Little Chinatown. The Triad Gangs are Back in business. This is typical Triad extortion scheme. Pay $20,000 per month to the Triad or else.

These were Asian people behind those masks. This was extortion or gang activity, which is prevalent in Asians communities. But the NYC Media paints ADOS/Black faces as the culprits of all crime in our city

The New York Police Department is investigating this incident as Criminal Mischief, and not a hate crime.

Fact #3 : Police Are Still Not Able To Identify The Attackers

Despite knowing that they were being recorded on video, the attackers did not assault the person recording them. This is likely because they were fully covered up with face masks, and hoodies.

And their tactic appears to be working, making it impossible for law enforcement to identify them. The New York Police Department is still investigating the incident, and has not yet made any arrests.

Two days later, mayor Eric Adams called on New Yorkers to remove their face masks when entering businesses, to cut down on crime.

Let’s be clear. Some of these characters going into stores that are wearing a mask, they’re not doing it because they are afraid of the pandemic.

They’re doing it because they’re afraid of the police, and we need to stop allowing them to exploit the safety of the pandemic by wearing masks, committing crimes.

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Does Steaming Food Cause Cancer From Chlorine?!

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Can you get cancer from chlorine if you steam your food?!

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

Claim : Steaming Food Can Cause Cancer From Chlorine!

This advice by a Chinese professor keeps going viral on WhatsApp, and social media platforms:

Please be sure to forward:

Steam food with water
Beijing Xuanwu Hospital Professor Qi’s article:

When steaming food, please be sure to open the lid to boil the water before adding the food to be steamed covered! No wonder more and more people have cancer.

When cooking food with the pot, we must use boiled water. Because if we directly use tap water, which has chlorine, and after heating due to the lid been covered, the chlorine is completely coated on the food. So be sure to use boiled water or filtered water without chlorine to steam thing.

Because chlorine is carcinogenic. This is really important! Even if only steaming buns, we must have this common knowledge.

Please share this info to more people. I hope all my friends are healthy.

請一定要轉發：

用開水蒸東西，北京宣武醫院齊教授的文章：蒸食物請一定要先開著蓋子把水燒開，再放入要蒸的食物，蓋上蓋子！難怪患癌症的人愈來愈多。用鍋蒸煮東西時，一定要用開水。因為如果直接用自來水，自來水有氯，再經過加熱後，由於鍋蓋是蓋著的，氯被全部包覆在食物上，所以一定要用煮沸過的開水或用已過濾掉氯的水來蒸東西。因為氯有致癌的危險。這真的很重要！即使只是蒸饅頭，都要有此常識。不要自私，讓更多的人看到。這個以前真不知道，以後得記住了。希望所有朋友都健健康康，贈人玫瑰手有餘香

No Evidence Steaming Food Can Cause Cancer From Chlorine!

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

Fact #1 : There Is No Chlorine Gas In Tap Water

First, I should point out that tap water does not actually contain chlorine gas. Chlorine gas may be used to disinfect tap water, but it is quickly transformed into other chemicals that actually disinfect the water – hypochlorous acid and hypochlorite anion.

The common usage of chlorine (or free chlorine) in tap water really refers to these chemical compounds, and not chlorine gas itself. There is certainly no chlorine gas inside tap water.

Fact #2 : Regulated Tap Water Has Low Levels Of Chlorine

Tap water in most countries only has low levels of chlorine – between 0.2 to 1 mg per litre, although it may go as high as 4 mg per litre – four parts per million.

Fact #3 : Water With Too Much Chlorine Is Undrinkable

In places where the levels of chlorine in the tap water is poorly regulated, it may be possible for the tap water to have too high levels of chlorine – anything above 4 mg per litre – four parts per million.

Even if you do not have professional testing on hand, you can look out for signs of too much chlorine in the water:

the water smells or tastes like swimming pool water
you experience nausea, diarrhoea, or vomiting after drinking the water

I should point out that swimming pools have an upper limit of 5 mg per litre – five parts per million, while spas can go as high as 10 mg per litre. You can taste the chlorine in the water, but even then, it is not dangerous to accidentally swallow some of the water, although it is distasteful.

Fact #4 : Chlorine Evaporates Naturally From Tap Water

What people may not realise is that chlorine is volatile and evaporates naturally from tap water over a day or so.

If you leave a glass of tap water in the open, it should be pretty much chlorine-free after a day or so.

Fact #5 : Chlorine In Tap Water Evaporates When Heated

The vapour pressure of chlorine is much lower than that of water, so it will evaporate by the time your tap water starts boiling.

The evaporated chlorine “escapes” with the steam, and doesn’t coat your food as claimed, because… its vapour pressure is lower than that of water!

So the risk of getting cancer from chlorine is lower, if not eradicated, by steaming or boiling tap water.

Fact #6 : Only Certain Water Filters Can Remove Free Chlorine

The typical particle filters will not remove free chlorine. Only water filters using reverse osmosis and/or active carbon filters can remove free chlorine from tap water.

So the advice to just use filtered water is not accurate, as the filtered water will likely still contain chlorine (unless it uses reverse osmosis / carbon filtration)

Fact #7 : Carcinogenicity Of Chlorine Has Not Been Determined

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not classified chlorine regarding its human carcinogenicity.

That’s likely because chlorine is an irritant, and it is unlikely for humans to willingly consume large amounts of it.

Fact #8 : Trihalomethanes Are The Real Risk, Not Chlorine

Chlorine may react with organic matter in the water to produce compounds like trihalomethanes, such as chloroform, dibromochloromethane (DBCM), bromodichloromethane (BDCM), and Bromoform.

These trihalomethane compounds are potential human carcinogens. These are the compounds that pose a potential health risk, and not the free chlorine in tap water itself.

However, the level of trihalomethane compounds in well-regulated tap water is very low, so the real risk occurs when there is poor regulation of tap water.

Yan Zonghai, Director of the Clinical Toxicology Department of Chang Gung Hospital in Linkou, said that the public is worried that after chlorine disinfection in tap water, there may be residual “trihalomethanes”, which are volatile organic compounds with low boiling points. Long-term exposure in large quantities may cause cancer.

The World Health Organization (WHO) lists trihalomethanes as a confirmed carcinogenic risk in animals, but there is no relevant evidence for human cancer. Yan Zonghai emphasized that the limit value of chlorination and disinfection of tap water is checked, and the possible production of trihalomethanes is very small, so the public should not worry.

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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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Are Malaysia Mamak Restaurants Funding Zakir Naik?!

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Is controversial preacher Zakir Naik being funded by mamak restaurants in Malaysia?!

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

Claim : Zakir Naik Is Funded By Mamak Restaurants In Malaysia!

This message has gone viral on WhatsApp and social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, claiming that controversial preacher Zakir Naik is being funded by mamak restaurants in Malaysia!

Persatuan Restoran Mamak Malaysia (PRMM) has 17,351 restaurants in Malaysia. They have been donating RM 10/mth to Dr. Zakir Naik. Monthly fixed income given to him at RM175,000.00 every month not only to destroy unity of this Nation but also to propogate Islamic values to non-muslim natives.

Spending your money by patronising in Mamak Restaurants is indirectly helping this India’s wanted FUGITIVE to destroy our peaceful Nation. 😡

Let us Boycott all Mamak Restaurants nationwide with immediate effect.

Please viral this message.

No Evidence Mamak Restaurants In Malaysia Are Funding Zakir Naik

There is really NO EVIDENCE that mamak restaurants in Malaysia are funding Zakir Naik, and here is what we know so far…

Fact #1 : This Is An Old Viral Claim

This claim about Zakir Naik being funded by the mamak restaurants in Malaysia isn’t new.

The viral message first started circulating in 2019, before going viral again in 2021, and now, in 2023.

Fact #2 : PRMM Does Not Exist

The Persatuan Restoran Mamak Malaysia (PRMM), which translates as Association of Mamak Restaurants of Malaysia, does not exit. There are only two associations in Malaysia representing mamak restaurants:

Malaysian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association (PRESMA / Persatuan Pengusaha Restoran Muslim Malaysia), and
Malaysian Indian Restaurant Operators Association (PRIMAS / Persatuan Pengusaha Restoran India).

Representatives of both PRESMA and PRIMAS said they have never heard of PRMM.

Fact #3 : Both PRESMA + PRIMAS Denied The Viral Claim

Both associations representing mamak restaurants in Malaysia – PRESMA and PRMAS, denied the allegations that they are funding Zakir Naik.

Fact #4 : Impossible To Have Over 17K Mamak Restaurants In Malaysia

While mamak restaurants may seem ubiquitous, there are not so many mamak restaurants in Malaysia.

PRESMA has about 4,000 members, although they are not all mamak restaurants.

PRIMAS, on the other hand, has about 1,150 members who operate banana leaf restaurants. Only 25% of its members were Indian-Muslims.

Fact #5 : This Is Just Malaysian Fake News

This is really just another example of fake news targeting people in Malaysia. Here are examples of other Malaysian fake news that I fact checked earlier.

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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 TikTok Star Waffler69 Die Of Vaccine Heart Attack?!

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Did TikTok star Waffler69 die at just 33 years of age from a heart attack induced by the COVID-19 vaccine?!

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

Claim : TikTok Star Waffler69 Died From Vaccine Heart Attack!

Right after news broke that Taylor Brice LeJeune died suddenly from a heart attack, anti-vaccination activists immediately claimed that TikTok star known as Waffler69 (or Wafffler69) was a victim of the COVID-19 vaccine!

He also died of a heart attack. no one has a clue what could possibly be causing these #suddendeaths and age-inappropriate deaths, in excess in all age brackets. But they know it can’t be the #vaccines. B/c Big Pharma cares about your health.

The vaccine claims another

Vaxx attack due to climate change?

@wafffler69
Replying to @lizmars69 I have dipped the Loop into the waters of lake minnetonka #big #fruit #loop #cereal #mschf #food #foodtok @wafffler69

♬ original sound – wafffler69

Truth : TikTok Star Waffler69 Did Not Die From COVID-19 Vaccine!

It’s now a tradition for anti-vaccination activists to immediately blame all celebrity deaths or illnesses on the COVID-19 vaccine.

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created and propagated by anti-vaccination activists, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : Waffler69 Died Of A Presumed Heart Attack

Taylor Brice LeJeune (born on August 6, 1989) was an American TikTok star and Internet celebrity who goes by the name Waffler69 on Instagram, or Wafffler69 on TikTok.

Waffler69 garnered over 1.7 million followers for videos showing him cook and eat everything from a massive Fruit Loop (in his last video) to long-expired nostalgic food like Shrek candy from 2010, canned ham from 1960 (!) or an Addams Family cereal from 1991.

On Wednesday, January 11, 2023, Waffler69 experienced some discomfort at his home in Louisiana, and called his mother about it. But when things got worse, he called for an ambulance at around 8:30 PM to rush him to a hospital.

According to his brother, Clayton (known as Claydorm on TikTok), Taylor / Waffler69 died at the hospital at around 10 PM, of a presumed heart attack. He was only 33 years old when he died.

Clayton asked people to “keep his [brother’s] legacy alive” by “watching his videos”.

Fact #2 : Waffler69 Has Strong Family History Of Heart Disease

In an emotional video, Clayton LeJeune confirmed that his brother, Waffler69, died from a heart attack, but stressed that it was not caused by the food he consumed, but was genetic in nature.

He pointed out that his brother had a strong family history of heart disease. Their father and grandfather both died before they were 50 years old, from heart failure.

While Clayton did not mention vaccines, I should point out that COVID-19 vaccines don’t cause heart attack. And unfortunately, they do not protect against heart disease either.

So Waffler69’s death had nothing to do with the COVID-19 vaccines, no matter what people on social media are insinuating.

Incidentally, Lisa Marie Presley who died a day after Waffler69, also had a strong family history of heart disease.

@claydorm
I had to call people out.

♬ original sound – Claydorm

Fact #3 : Heart Attack Is A Common Cause Of Death

An acute myocardial infarction (AMI), or a heart attack, occurs when blood supply to the heart muscle is abruptly cut off, usually due to a blockage of one or more coronary arteries.

It is a very common cause of sudden death. Every year, about 805,000 Americans suffer a heart attack, of which about 382,000 die. Every year.

People have been dying from heart attacks long before COVID-19 vaccines were invented.

And no, COVID-19 vaccines do NOT cause heart attacks, no matter what anti-vaccination activists may claim.

Neither can COVID-19 vaccines prevent people from getting heart attacks, or dying from them.

Fact #4 : Unknown If Waffler69 Was Vaccinated Against COVID-19

It is currently unknown if Waffler69 was vaccinated against COVID-19, as he has never publicly mentioned his vaccination status.

For all we know – he may not even be vaccinated! The COVID-19 vaccine is not mandatory in the United States, despite what anti-vaccination activists may claim.

For example, anti-vaccination activists claimed that Kaden Clymer was almost crippled by a 6-foot long vaccine-induced blood clot, but the high school athlete was never vaccinated against COVID-19!

Until and unless his family reveals his COVID-19 vaccination status, anyone who claims that Waffler69 received the COVID-19 vaccine is likely lying to you.

Fact #5 : Claims Of Celebrities Injured By COVID-19 Vaccine Proven False

This is yet another example of anti-vaccination activists abusing celebrity deaths / injuries to create and propagate FAKE NEWS about the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines.

So far, claims of celebrity deaths / injuries due to the COVID-19 vaccine have been proven false at every instance. Here is the latest dozen of other false celebrity claims!

Will these anti-vaccination activists apologise for lying to you? Nope! They will just move on to the next celebrity tragedy…

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Don’t forget to protect yourself, and your family, by vaccinating against COVID-19!

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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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Claim : Toxic Fukushima Water Killed Fish + Birds In Kuching!

Truth : Fukushima Water Did Not Kill Fish + Birds In Kuching!

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Truth : Yasuhiro Sonoda Did Not Die After Drinking Fukushima Water!

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Truth : Fukushima Water Did Not Kill Fish In Indonesia!

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Claim : Fukushima Water Killed Thousands Of Fish In Penang!

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Claim : Singapore Found NEW Radioactive Food From Japan!

Truth : Singapore Did Not Find NEW Radioactive Food From Japan!

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Claim : Singapore Found New Radioactive Food From Japan!

Singapore Refutes WSJ Radioactive Japan Food Podcast!

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Claim : BlackRock Is The Largest TEPCO Shareholder!

Truth : BlackRock Is Not Even Top 10 TEPCO Shareholder!

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Claim : EU + Japan Have Secret Agreement To Re-Export Seafood!

No Evidence EU + Japan Have Secret Agreement To Re-Export Seafood!

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Fukushima Radioactive Water Is Different From Normal Nuclear Waste Water!

Other radioactive materials — Cesium-137, Iodine-129, Cobalt-60

What Makes Fukushima Radioactive Water Different?

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Claim : FDA Issued Import Alert 99-33, Banning Japanese Food!

The Truth About FDA Import Alert 99-33 On Japanese Food!

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Claim : Hong Kong Just Banned All Food From Japan!

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Claim : Fukushima Waste Water Will Contaminate Japanese Food!

No Evidence Fukushima Waste Water Will Contaminate Japanese Food

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Claim : Viral Video Proves Japanese Food Is Highly Radioactive!

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Claim : Fermented Tea Can Prevent COVID-19!

Truth : Fermented Tea Cannot Prevent COVID-19!

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Adding To Your IndieGala Account

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Claim : Eating Vitamin C + Prawns Will Poison Us With Arsenic!

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Claim : FBI Says Restaurant QR Code Can Hack Your Phone!

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Claim : Human Meat Found In McDonald’s Factories!

Truth : No Human Meat Was Ever Found In McDonald’s Factories!

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KKM Orders Recall Of Two Ah Lai + Indomie Instant Noodles

KKM : Ethylene Oxide Found In Mi Sedaap Noodles Too!

The Risk Of Ethylene Oxide In Instant Noodles

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Toxic Ethylene Oxide Found In Two Instant Noodles!

The Risk Of Ethylene Oxide In Instant Noodles

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

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

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Claim : US Sent 7,000 Insects To Destroy Crops In China!

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SFA Orders Recall Of Eu Yan Sang Brown Rice Powder!

Only Two Batches Of Eu Yan Sang Brown Rice Powder Were Recalled

Danger Of Aflatoxin + Arsenic In Eu Yan Sang Brown Rice Powder

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Claim : Rohingyas Use Chemicals To Freshen Old Vegetables For Sale!

Claim : Rohingyas Are Not Using Chemicals To Freshen Old Vegetables!

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