Tag Archives: Reddit

Did millions of Japanese protest against WHO Pandemic Treaty?!

Claim : Millions of Japanese protested against WHO Pandemic Treaty!

People are sharing an article (archive) by The People’s Voice (formerly NewsPunch), which claimed that millions of people protested against the WHO Pandemic Treaty in major Japanese cities!

Here is an excerpt of the long and (intentionally?) confusing article. Feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!

Millions of Japanese Rise Up Against Tyrannical WHO ‘Pandemic Treaty’

Massive protests are rocking Japan’s major cities as the people rise up against their government’s plans to sign the World Health Organization’s Pandemic Treaty.

Millions of Japanese citizens are deeply unhappy with the government’s plans to ratify the treaty, according to opinion polls, yet Tokyo has indicated it will go ahead and sell out the people to the global elite despite their opposition.

According to the Japanese people, the WHO’s Pandemic Treaty will undermine Japanese sovereignty, enabling the global elite to use health crises to dictate terms create laws and dictate terms to democratically elected governments.

However, the Japanese people are not taking their government’s treasonous betrayal lying down.

April 13 will be etched in the annals of modern Japanese history as hundreds of thousands of patriotic citizens across the nation came together to protest the their government’s plans to hand over their sovereignty to the global elite.

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https://www.techarp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Ikebukuro-Central-Park-protest-against-WHO-Pandemic-Treaty-13-April-2024.mp4?_=1

Truth : Millions of Japanese did not protest against WHO Pandemic Treaty!

This is yet another example of fake news created / promoted by The People’s Voice, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : Protest Only Occurred In Tokyo

The People’s Voice article claimed that protests against the WHO Pandemic Treaty are occurring in “Japan’s major cities”. That’s not true.

The protest against the WHO Pandemic Treaty only occurred in Tokyo, on the afternoon of April 13, 2024. Even then, it was restricted to the Ikebukuro district, specifically the Higashi-Ikebukuro Central Park.

Unsurprisingly, The People’s Voice did not provide any actual evidence that there were protests against the WHO Pandemic Treaty in other major Japanese cities.

Fact #2 : There Were Only Hundreds / Thousands Of People

The People’s Voice article also claimed or suggested that millions of Japanese people protested against the WHO Pandemic Treaty. That is also not true.

In fact, The People’s Voice article itself pointed out that the organisers “aimed for a turnout of 100,000 protestors”. How did that translate into “millions of Japanese”???

Even favourable reports (example) stated that there were thousands of people there, not millions. An eyewitness on Reddit (archive), however, reported that there were only a few hundred people, while a risk management company reported (archive) that there were only several thousand people.

Regardless of whether there were hundreds or thousands of people at that Japanese protest against the WHO Pandemic Treaty, I think we can agree that it was nowhere close to hundreds of thousands, and certainly not millions of people.

Fact #3 : Photo Was Taken In August 2016

The People’s Voice article used a photo that appears to show a huge crowd of people at the Japanese protest against the WHO Pandemic Treaty.

However, that photo was actually taken on August 30, 2016, and shows protestors outside the Diet building in the Chiyoda Ward (a completely different part of Tokyo). The people there were protesting against the security legislation, not the WHO Pandemic Treaty.

Fact #4 : WHO Pandemic Treaty Does Not Affect Sovereignty!

If you download and read the zero draft, you will realise that it clearly states in Pages 10 and 11 that countries like Japan will continue to have the right to “determine and manage” their own healthcare initiatives, including how to tackle future pandemics.

3. Sovereignty – States have, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law, the sovereign right to determine and manage their approach to public health, notably pandemic prevention, preparedness, response and recovery of health systems, pursuant to their own policies and legislation, provided that activities within their jurisdiction or control do not cause damage to their peoples and other countries. Sovereignty also covers the rights of States over their biological resources.

Unless those protestors did not read the Zero Draft, it seems impossible that they would not be aware that the WHO Pandemic Treaty would not affect any country’s sovereignty!

Protesters against the security legislation block a road in front of the Diet building in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward, on Aug. 30, 2016. (Mainichi)

Fact #5 : The People’s Voice Is Known For Fake News

The People’s Voice is the current name for NewsPunch, which possibly changed its name because its brand has been so thoroughly discredited after posting numerous shocking but fake stories.

Founded as Your News Wire in 2014, it was rebranded as NewsPunch in November 2018, before becoming The People’s Voice. A 2017 BuzzFeed report identified NewsPunch as the second-largest source of popular fake news on Facebook that year.

Its articles have been regularly debunked as fake news, so you should never share anything from NewsPunch / The People’s Voice. Here are some of its fake stories that I fact checked earlier:

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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 StopNCII Remove All Nude / Deep Fake Photos?!

Claim : StopNCII Can Remove All Nude / Deep Fake Photos!

People are sharing this advice on WhatsApp and social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook, claiming that the StopNCI website can remove all of your nude or deep fake or Photoshopped photos from the Internet!

Attention girls! If someone edits your photo with Al or Photoshop to create a nude photo, then you go to stopncii.org and submit the original photo and the edited photo.

They’ll remove the edited photo from all the places on the Internet and your identity will be confidential. Please immediately inform the cyber cell and file a case to take immediate action.

Truth : StopNCII Cannot Remove All Nude / Deep Fake Photos!

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

Fact #1 : StopNCII Does Not Remove Photos / Videos

First, let me just point out that the StopNCII website is a project by the Revenge Porn Helpline, which is itself a part of the UK-based charity, SWGfL.

StopNCII is not a government organisation, or even a multinational / international organisation that controls what gets posted on the Internet. It does not have any power or authority or even capability to remove a single photo or video.

To be clear – StopNCII cannot remove all of your photos or videos from the Internet. No organisation can.

Fact #2 : You Don’t Upload Photos / Videos To StopNCII

The advice to upload your nude or edited photos or videos to the StopNCII website is nonsensical. So is the claim that you must also upload your original photos or videos.

StopNCII does not require you to upload your nude / edited photo or video, or your original photo or video.

In fact, StopNCII does not even require you to upload a single photo or video. It merely scans the photos or videos that you are concerned about.

Those photos or videos do not leave your devices (computers, tablets, and smartphones).

Fact #3 : StopNCII Only Generates Digital Hashes

StopNCII only scans the photos or videos that you select on your device, and generate their digital fingerprints (hashes). It does not download or keep your nude photos or videos.

Select the image(s)/video(s) on your device that you would like to protect. Remember, your image(s)/video(s) do not leave your device, they will only be scanned so a unique “hash,” or digital fingerprint, can be generated.

Fact #4 : Photos / Videos Are Only Removed On Certain Platforms

StopNCII itself does not remove any photos or videos, whether they are nude or edited. Instead, they rely on a limited number of partner platforms to do that:

Facebook
TikTok
Reddit
Instagram
Bumble
OnlyFans
Threads
Pornhub

Only these platforms will receive cases and the digital hashes (fingerprints) from StopNCII.

Fact #5 : Not All Photos / Videos Will Be Removed

Even on those supported platforms, it’s not a guarantee that those photos / videos submitted to StopNCII will be removed.

Those platforms will scan their systems for those digital hashes, and remove them if they are found to have violated their intimate image abuse policy.

This is to avoid the StopNCII system from being abused to remove photos or videos that are not sexual, abusive, personal, or illegal in any way.

Once generated the ‘hash’ will be shared with the participating companies.

Participating companies will look for matches to the hash and remove any matches within their system(s) if it violates their intimate image abuse policy.

The Revenge Porn Helpline reported a 90% removal rate on those platforms since 2015. While that is impressive, that tells us that some 10% of all reported photos or videos were determined not to have contravened the policies of those partner platforms.

Fact #6 : No One Can Remove All Photos / Videos From Internet

Even if StopNCII is able to partner with every single social media platform, large and small; or Internet service providers, it simply cannot help you remove all of your nude photos or videos from the Internet.

That’s because once released on the Internet, those photos or videos (whether nude or edited) can be transmitted through many means – messaging apps like WhatsApp or Telegram, or email and file-sharing services.

They can also be posted or stored on independent websites / servers on the Internet or the dark web, that no one can shut down. There are revenge porn websites and groups dedicated to this, and it is simply impossible to remove edited / nude photos and videos from those websites and groups.

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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Did Pope Francis Suddenly Become A Fashion Icon?!

Claim : Pope Francis Is Now A Fashion Icon!

People are sharing photos of Pope Francis sporting trendy sunglasses and puffer coats, suggesting that he has now eschewed his simple clothes for the latest fashion!

Pope Francis was spotted sporting an all white fashion ensemble

Is he trolling?

Ian Miles Cheong : The Pope is a fashion icon. Respect the drip.

🚨 VEJA: Papa Francisco divide opiniões entre cristãos após aparecer com look fashion. Serviu?

🚨 WATCH: Pope Francis divides opinions among Christians after appearing with a fashionable look. Did it work?

Pope giving us a holy fashion sense 🥰🥰

Truth : Fashion Photos Of Pope Francis Were AI-Generated!

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

Fact #1 : The Photo Was Generated Using Midjourney

The first photo of Pope Francis sporting a fashionable white puffer coat appeared to have been created by trippy_art_special using Midjourney – a text-to-image generator powered by artificial intelligence.

Tripy_art_special posted four Pope Francis fashion photos in the Midjourney Reddit on Friday, 24 March 2023, with the title “The Pope Drip“, but only the first one went viral and was reposted in Twitter, where many people believed it was real, with some calling him “The Dope Pope“.

It then became an inspiration for other people to create their version of Pope Francis looking “dope”, creating the perception that Pope Francis ditched his simple clothes for the latest fashion.

It is unknown if the other photos were also created using Midjourney, or other AI image generators like DALL-E or Stable Diffusion.

Fact #2 : The Photos Have Anomalies

The viral photos of Pope Francis looking fashionable are amazingly realistic, but Midjourney and other text-to-image generators still have trouble with hands and fingers.

If you look at the first viral photo above, you can see that his right hand appears to have most of its fingers cut off, and yet, is implausibly holding onto some kind of object.

The right hand appears normal at first glance, but if you look closely, you will see something odd. Just under the sleeve, the thumb and three fingers are visible, with rings on the middle and ring (fourth) fingers. Yet, those two fingers mysteriously merge and become a single finger a short distance below the rings!

Fact #3 : Pope Francis Is Famous For Dressing Plain

Unlike many of his predecessors, Pope Francis is notable for dressing plain and simple, dispensing with excess adornment.

Instead of silk, Pope Francis opts for simpler and cheaper material like wool. He also wears a simple white cassock, and simple black leather shoes made by a friend, Carlos Samaria in Buenos Aires.

He sports a basic black watch with a white dial, reportedly a Swatch that only costs about $56, and simple glasses. Even the cross he wears is the same iron cross he wore since his anointment as auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires in 1992.

Pope Francis also chose to “reuse” a modest papal ring in gold-plated silver that was made decades ago, instead of a new papal ring made in gold specifically for him.

Hence, it is rather peculiar why so many people actually believe that Pope Francis is now a fashion icon with expensive taste!

Pope Francis’s penchant for simple, practical clothes has been coined as the “papal athleisure” style, which has been adopted by the cardinals and many Catholics. In a way, Pope Francis is a fashion influencer, even if he never meant to be one!

Fact #4 : This Is Just Another Example Of AI-Generated Imagery

These fashion photos of Pope Francis are funny, but they are really just another example of AI-generated imagery that are becoming extremely common. Take a look at fake news based on AI-generated photos or videos:

With AI image generators like Midjourney, DALL-E and Stable Diffusion making it easy for people to create photorealistic images out of literally nothing, we can expect many more examples coming up.

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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Support Tech ARP!

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