Tag Archives: Reuters

Did Russia Just Shoot Down US Drone Over Black Sea?!

Did Russia just shoot down a US drone flying over the Black Sea?! Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!

Claim : Russia Just Shot Down US Drone Over Black Sea!

People are claiming that Russia just shot down a US drone flying over the Black Sea!

US Civil Defense News : 🚨We reported it first! Before it happened!! Now Russia just shot down a US Drone over the Black Sea!!

US Civil Defense News : 🚨🚨🚨Update: Russian revenge!! Reports are coming out that Russian air defense forces shot down an American RQ-4 Global Hawk, a $100 million dollar drone over the Black Sea!!! 🔥🔥🔥

US Civil Defense News : 🚨Update: Report that a Russian MiG-31 fighter jet shot down the US RQ-4B Global Hawk over the Black Sea near Crimea where the US surveillance drone was providing targeting information to NATO missiles in Ukraine!!

SilencedSirs : ⚡️BREAKING: An American drone has been shot down over the Black Sea by Russia – Fighterbomber (linked to Russian Air Force). 🇷🇺 🇺🇸

Russia said there will be consequences for the US after ATACMS hit Crimea. #Russia #USA #BlackSea #Drone #Crimea #ATACMS #Geopolitics

Russian Market : #BREAKING US DRONE SHOT DOWN IN THE BLACK SEA – UNCONFIRMED

⚡️Waiting for confirmation ⚠️

❗️Military bloggers hint at the destruction of an American drone over the Black Sea by the Russian Aerospace Forces

A start. Congratulations to everyone involved. Handsome guys! We are expecting OK from the Pindos about “unprofessional actions.” There is now increased turbulence in the Black Sea. Let’s see whether it’s on an ongoing basis or whether it was a one-time event.

There have been no official statements at this time. It could probably be an RQ-4 Global Hawk.

No Evidence Russia Just Shot Down US Drone Over Black Sea!

This appears to be just more misinformation / Russian propaganda circulating online, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : No Evidence Russia Shot Down US Drone

Let me start by pointing out that there is no evidence that Russia just shot down a US drone flying over the Black Sea.

These claims appear to be made by pro-Russian social media accounts. There has not been any official confirmation from the Russian Ministry of Defense, or even official Russian media outlets.

Needless to say – none of those people making these claims actually provided any evidence that a Russian MiG-31 fighter jet shot down a US drone over the Black Sea.

Fact #2 : US Military Said There Was No Incident Over Black Sea

A US military official told Idress Ali of Reuters, that no incident had been reported over the Black Sea.

Idrees Ali : A U.S. military official says no incident has been reported over the Black Sea.

Fact #3 : US Drone Apparently Landed Safely

In addition, WarZone – News (Telegram) and other analysts (example) pointed out the US drone which Russia allegedly shot down apparently landed safely at around 2 AM Moscow time, on 24 June 24, 2024 at the Sigonella Air Base in Sicily, Italy.

The RQ-4B Global Hawk strategic reconnaissance drone with callsign Forte 10, operating yesterday off the coast of Crimea, which the Russians said they had shot down, returned “safely” to the Sigonella base in Italy on or around June 24, 2024 to 2:00 Moscow time.

Fact #4 : US Drones Are Flying In International Airspace

The US Air Force has been conducting intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions using RQ-4B Global Hawk and MQ-4C Triton drones in the Black Sea to monitor Russian military movements in Crimea.

Russia has threatened to take stronger actions against US and NATO drones flying in the Black Sea. However, those drones are flying in international airspace, and Russia cannot simply shoot them down. That would have been considered a “casus belli“.

While Russia sometimes intercepts and monitors such drone flights, it has rarely attacked them, because it would have caused an international incident. That was what happened in March 2023, when a Russian Su-27 fighter jet damaged an American MQ-9 Reaper drone.

On 14 March 2023, two Russian Su-27 fighter jets intercepted a USAF MQ-9 Reaper drone on the way to a reconnaissance mission over the Black Sea. The Russian planes repeatedly flew past the drone to dump fuel on it. It was likely one of these attempts that damaged the drone’s propeller, forcing it to ditch in the Black Sea.

That incident was strongly condemned by the White House and the Pentagon. The Russian Defense Ministry made it a point to state that its fighter jets did not fire any weapons or make contact with the drone.

The Russian fighters did not use their airborne weapons, did not make contact with the drone, and returned safely to their home airfield.

Regardless of what Russia thinks of these drone flights, it would not dare to shoot down any US drone, especially if it’s flying in international airspace.

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Did US impose sanctions on Malaysia as State Sponsor of Terror?!

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Did the US just impose sanctions on Malaysia, after listing it as a state sponsor of terror?! Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!

Claim : US Imposed Sanctions On Malaysia As State Sponsor Of Terror!

This message has gone viral on WhatsApp, claiming that the US just imposed sanctions on Malaysia, after listing it as a state sponsor of terror!

Reuters , 10th May- U.S has imposed sanctions on four Malaysian based companies, making it the first country in SEA to be listed as a state sponsor of terror, this comes after officials from the U.S State Department arrived in Malaysia over the week and held discussions with Malaysian officials including Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

According to sources who spoke under the condition of anonymity, the conversation between U.S officials and Malaysian officials were bitter and short as U.S attempts to curb Iran and its proxies of financing in the region.

According to the source who familiar with discussions, U.S officials have said to request Malaysian officials to tone down their support for Hamas and Gaza both publicly and privately and impose anti-terrorism measures.

In recent days the State Department has accused Malaysia of helping Iran to sell its sanctioned oil via ship-to-ship transfers in Malaysian waters and using sanctions busting methods to obscure the origin of Iranian oil.

According to sanctions official Nelson McBride “ We have seen in recent months on how Malaysia is playing a vital role in terrorist financing with Iran, Russia and Hamas. This include allowing terrorist individuals to access Malaysian banking system for the purposes of money laundering, allowing ship-to-ship transfers of oil in its waters and promoting terrorist groups like Hamas in the country.”

He further added that he found it strange on how Malaysia is able to export more oil than it produces, “ I find it quite strange that Malaysia which produces 300,000 barrels/month are able to export nearly 6,000,000 barrels/month to China and India. It far exceeds their production capacity.”

U.S State Department officials also commented that they will be monitoring closely the situation in Malaysia in the coming months and have said the U.S will not hesitate to impose harsher economic crippling sanctions on Malaysia if needed to.😟

Truth : US Did Not Impose Sanctions On Malaysia As State Sponsor Of Terror!

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

Fact #1 : US Did Not Impose Sanctions On Malaysia!

First, let me point out that the US government has not imposed sanctions on Malaysia, nor has it labelled Malaysia as a State Sponsor of Terror. If that happened, it would have been major news, covered widely across the world!

Yet, there was no such coverage by the mainstream media. Neither was there any announcement by the US government, nor the Malaysian government.

Fact #2 : Reuters Denied The Viral Report

On 11 May 2024, Reuters denied posting the viral news report, stating:

Any claims that Reuters reported that Malaysia is the first country in Southeast Asia to be listed by the United States as a state sponsor of terror are false. Reuters did not report this.

When I searched earlier, I could also find no such report by Reuters, or any other news agency for the matter.

Fact #3 : US Embassy Called It Fake News

On 11 May 2024, the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur labelled it as fake news, stating:

FAKE NEWS ALERT: The United States has not imposed any new sanctions on Malaysian companies nor listed Malaysia as a state sponsor of terror. The hoax below circulating on WhatsApp and other social media is fake news.

Fact #4 : Malaysia Government Confirmed It As Fake News

On 11 May 2024, Malaysia Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil confirmed (translated) that the viral message is fake news:

I have received a viral message claiming Malaysia is the first ASEAN country to be sanctioned by the United States.

Based on the denial of the Reuters Press Team on X, and the confirmation I received from the US Embassy, I confirmed that the viral message is false.

Fact #5 : Four Companies In Malaysia Were Sanctioned In 2023

The US government only imposed sanctions on four companies based in Malaysia, which were accused of helping Iran produce drones. However, those sanctions were limited to those four companies, and were imposed last year – in December 2023.

The viral fake news may have been “triggered” by the US Treasury’s Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson’s interview at the American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, 9 May 2024, in which he told the Malaysian media that those sanctions had been impactful:

This is a powerful tool that we find is effective, in the context of most of this activity is designed to drive profit or provide capital for ongoing operations, and our sanctions have the ability to disrupt both of those features. So from that perspective, we think of course that it’s impactful.

Nelson also confirmed that he had a meeting with Malaysia Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution over the matter.

Fact #6 : Malaysia Rebuffed US On Iran Oil Sales

Brian Nelson also brought up the issue of Malaysian companies being involved in the sale of Iranian oil with Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution:

I would only say we have seen and we’ve promulgated some sort of guidance to the (Malaysian) marine sector about the type of services that they are engaging in.

These are ship-to-ship transfers, particularly at night, which we see from time to time. They are really designed to obfuscate the origin of the commodity, in this case, Iranian oil.

Nasution told Nelson that Malaysia will only recognise sanctions imposed by the United Nations, and not by individual countries like the United States:

I emphasised that we will only recognise sanctions if they are imposed by the United Nations Security Council. The delegation from the US respected our stance.

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Did FDA Lose Its War On Using Ivermectin For COVID-19?!

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Did the US FDA just lose its war against the use of ivermectin for COVID-19?! Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!

Claim : FDA Lost Its War On Using Ivermectin For COVID-19!

People are claiming or suggesting that the US FDA just lost its war against the use of ivermectin for COVID-19!

Mary Talley Bowden MD : 🚨BREAKING:
FDA loses its war on ivermectin and agrees to remove all social media posts and consumer directives regarding ivermectin and COVID, including its most popular tweet in FDA history.

This landmark case sets an important precedent in limiting FDA overreach into the doctor-patient relationship.

DC_Draino : Remember when Ivermectin won a Nobel Prize and had decades of data showing its safety and effectiveness, and then the FDA called it a “horse drug” during Covid b/c its Big Pharma vax sponsors told it to? Well a Federal court just ruled the FDA broke the law & needs to delete its propaganda The truth about the Covid cartel keeps coming out

The Gateway Pundit : FDA Loses its War on Ivermectin: Agrees to Remove All Related Social Media Content and Consumer Advisories on Ivermectin Usage for COVID-19

Right Angle News Network : The FDA is now being forced to remove all of its blatant disinformation, including the “You’re not a horse, stop it” post, the most viewed post in FDA history, regarding the use of ivermectin to treat COVID.

It’s exhausting always being correct. The FDA is now backtracking and mass deleting all of its posts that directed consumers not to use Ivermectin to treat COVID.

Let’s take a look back to when Ashley Cheung Honold, a senior lawyer for the FDA, tried to say the DEMANDS of the FDA were only simple “Quips.”

It’s time to hold ALL of these clowns accountable. People died when they could have used ivermectin.

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Truth : FDA + Plaintiffs Settled, Ivermectin Still Not Approved For COVID-19

Let’s take a closer look at the claims, and find out what the facts really are!

Fact #1 : Both Sides Agreed To Settle Lawsuit

Let me start by pointing out that neither side in this lawsuit actually lost the case, as both sides agreed on a settlement. That was stated in the Stipulation Of Dismissal (PDF), which was filed on 21 March 2024.

Fact #2 : Case Was Dismissed With Prejudice

The plaintiffs, Robert L. Apter, Mary Talley Bowden, and Paul E. Marik, agreed to dismiss “with prejudice” all claims in the case. That means they agreed to dismiss the claims forever.

This means that the settlement is final, and not subject to further action; and the plaintiffs are prohibited from bringing any other lawsuit based on the claim, absent a successful appeal to a higher court.

Fact #3 : FDA Agreed To Remove Some Posts

While some people are claiming or suggesting that the FDA agreed to all posts on the use of ivermectin against COVID-19, that’s not really accurate. The FDA only agreed to do the following within 21 days:

retire an old 2021 article called Why You Should Not Use Ivermectin to Treat or Prevent COVID-19, and delete and not republish all social media posts that link to the article; but the FDA retains the right to post a revised version,
delete and not republish its old Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook posts from 21 August 2021, that read “You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y’all. Stop it“,
delete and not republish its old Instagram post from 21 August 2021, that read “You are not a horse. Stop it with the #ivermectin. It’s not authorized for treating #COVID“, and
delete and not republish its old Twitter post from 26 April 2022, which read, “Hold your horses, y’all. Ivermectin may be trending, but it still isn’t authorized or approved to treat COVID-19.“

Another article called Frequently Asked Questions was already retired by the FDA, and played no part in this settlement.

In short, the FDA agreed to remove an old article and some old social media posts about not using ivermectin to treat COVID-19. That said, all removed materials will be archived, as required by federal law.

Fact #4 : Case Was Settled Without Admission Of Wrongdoing

According to Reuters, the three plaintiffs filed their lawsuit in 2022, stating that their reputations were harmed by the FDA campaign. Bowden lost admitting privileges at a Texas hospital, while Marik alleged he lost his positions at a medical school, and a hospital, for promoting the use of ivermectin against COVID-19.

But interestingly, this lawsuit appears to be settled without the FDA admitting to any wrongdoing, misconduct, or liability.

Neither this Stipulation of Dismissal nor the actions described herein shall constitute an admission or evidence of any issue of fact or law, wrongdoing, misconduct, or liability on the part of any party in this litigation.

In other words, the plaintiffs appear to have settled for the removal of an old article, and some old social media posts, without any change in FDA’s stance on ivermectin, or its use against COVID-19.

Overall, it seems to be a rather expensive way to remove an old article, and some old social media posts…

Fact #5 : Ivermectin Still Not Approved For Use Against COVID-19

It is important to point out that the FDA still has not approved or authorised the use of ivermectin in preventing or treating COVID-19. The FDA also pointed out that it has not stated that ivermectin is safe or effective for use against COVID-19.

Although FDA has approved ivermectin for certain uses in humans and animals, it has not authorized or approved ivermectin for use in preventing or treating COVID-19, nor has the agency stated that it is safe or effective for that use.

In addition, the NIH continues to strongly (AIIa) recommend against the use of ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19.

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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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China Still Has Access To High-Speed NVIDIA AI Chips!

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Military institutions, AI research institutes and universities in China are still able to source and buy NVIDIA AI chips, albeit in small quantities!

AMD + NVIDIA Banned From Selling AI Chips To China!

Both AMD and NVIDIA were ordered by the US government to stop selling high-performance AI chips to both China and Russia on 26 August 2022. This ban was introduced to prevent both countries from using those high-performance AI chips for military purposes.

With immediate effect, the US government banned the export of all AI chips that are equal to, or faster than, the NVIDIA A100 (and H100), or the AMD Instinct MI250 chips. NVIDIA then created slower A800 and H800 AI chips for the Chinese market, but even they were also banned in October 2023.

China Still Has Access To High-Speed NVIDIA AI Chips!

Despite the ongoing ban on the sale of high-performance AI chips to China and Russia, it appears that Chinese military-linked research institutes are still able to source and buy NVIDIA AI chips, albeit in small quantities!

According to a Reuters report on 14 January 2024, public tender documents show that dozens of military institutions, AI research institutes and universities in China with links to the military, have purchased and received high-performance NVIDIA AI chips like the A100 and the H100, as well as the slower A800 and H800 AI chips.

Harbin Institute of Technology purchased six NVIDIA A100 chips in May 2023, to train a deep-learning model
University of Electronic Science and Technology of China purchased on NVIDIA A100 in December 2022, for an unspecified purpose.

Both universities are subject to the US export restrictions, although the sale of those AI chips are not illegal in China.

More than 100 tenders were identified, in which Chinese state entities successfully purchased NVIDIA A100 and H100 chips, and dozens of tenders show successful purchases of the slower A800 chips.

Tsinghua University purchased two H100 chips in December 2023, as well as about eighty A100 chips since September 2022.
A Ministry of Industry and Information Technology laboratory purchased a H100 chip in December 2023.
An unnamed People’s Liberation Army (PLA) entity based in Wuxi sought to purchase three A100 chips in October 2023, and one H100 chip in January 2024
Shandong Artificial Intelligence Institute purchased five A100 chips from Shandong Chengxiang Electronic Technology in December 2023
Chongqing University purchased an NVIDIA A100 chip in January 2024.

To be clear – neither NVIDIA or its approved retailers were found to have supplied those chips. NVIDIA said that it complies with all applicable export control laws, and requires its customers to do the same:

If we learn that a customer has made an unlawful resale to third parties, we’ll take immediate and appropriate action.

– NVIDIA spokesperson

Even though Chinese state entities appear to be able to purchase high-performance AI chips, the Reuters report also shows the effectiveness of the American AI chip ban.

The training of large artificial intelligence models require thousands of high-performance AI chips, and China does not seem to be able to procure more than a handful of these critical chips.

That does not mean China is slowing down its AI initiatives. Instead of relying on “gray imports” of AMD or NVIDIA AI chips, Chinese entities are doing their best to switch to local alternatives. In 2023, HUAWEI received orders for some 5,000 of its Ascent 910B chips.

Chinese mega-companies like Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent also have their own in-house AI chips like the Kunlunxin Gen 2, Hanguang 800, and Zixiao.

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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 George Soros Die Suddenly From Heart Attack?!

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Did billionaire financier George Soros just die suddenly from a violent heart attack?!

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

Claim : George Soros Just Died Suddenly From Heart Attack

People are sharing Twitter posts, YouTube and TikTok videos claiming that billionaire financier George Soros just died suddenly from a violent heart attack!

Politics For All Ireland : BREAKING: FAMILY CONFIRMS GEORGE SOROS HAS DIED AGED 92

BREAKING: George Soros has died of a violent heart attack, according to Politics For All Ireland.

RIP George Soros Passed away at the age of 92 | Died today

According to the news in the Western media, George Soros passed away.

Truth : George Soros Did Not Die From A Heart Attack!

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

Fact #1 : No Legitimate Media Posted His Death

George Soros (born György Schwartz on August 12, 193o) is one of the world’s most famous businessman with billions to his name, a generous philanthropist who has donated over 32 billion dollars, and a popular foil for right-wing conspiracy theorists.

Even if you ignore his wealth, you cannot ignore his influence which extends globally through his Open Society Foundations.

If George Soros died, the worldwide media would have quickly published their prepared obituaries. In fact, Reuters infamously accidentally published its pre-written obituary of George Soros in April 2013, before withdrawing it 30 minutes later, and apologising to George Soros.

George Soros, who died XXX at age XXX, was a predatory and hugely successful financier and investor, who argued paradoxically for years against the same sort of free-wheeling capitalism that made him billions.

He was known as ‘the man who broke the Bank of England’ for selling short the British pound in 1992 and helping force the United Kingdom to withdraw from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, which devalued the pound and earned Soros more than $1bn (£650m). And his Soros Fund Management was widely blamed for helping trigger the Asian financial crisis of 1997, by selling short the Thai baht and Malaysian ringgit.

No legitimate media outlet has published its obituary for George Soros, only a few predatory websites, TikTok and YouTube channels capitalising on the fake news. That’s because – George Soros is NOT dead!

Fact #2 : George Soros Is Still Alive + Well!

After the claims that George Soros died from a violent heart attack went viral on social media, George Soros himself posted on his personal Twitter account that he’s very much “alive and healthy”.

Rumors that I had a heart attack are completely false. I am alive and healthy.

A spokesperson for the Open Society Foundations also confirmed that he is alive and well:

George Soros is alive and healthy. Rumors on social media that he suffered a heart attack and died are false.

Fact #3 : It Started With A Tweet

This latest rumour that the billionaire philanthropist died started with a tweet from the Twitter account of Politics for All Ireland, which only had 3 followers at that time.

It was picked up by conspiracy theorists, Cillian, who claimed that George Soros “died from a violent heart attack” even though the original Politics for All Ireland tweet never said that.

However, adding that bit appeared to have made it go viral, because it was viewed over a million times, and shared by many people.

Fact #4 : George Soros Death Hoax Is Driven By Fake Fact Check Too

This George Soros death hoax is, ironically, also being driven by a fake fact check article by the MediaMass Project, which keeps “updating” the dates in their fake fact check article:

News of business man George Soros’s death spread quickly earlier this week causing concern among fans across the world. However the May 2023 report has now been confirmed as a complete hoax and just the latest in a string of fake celebrity death reports. Thankfully, the the Man Who Broke the Bank of England is alive and well.

Rumors of the business man’s alleged demise gained traction on Sunday after a ‘R.I.P. George Soros’ Facebook page attracted nearly one million of ‘likes’. Those who read the ‘About’ page were given a believable account of the American business man’s passing:

“At about 11 a.m. ET on Sunday (May 14, 2023), our beloved business man George Soros passed away. George Soros was born on August 12, 1930 in Budapest. He will be missed but not forgotten. Please show your sympathy and condolences by commenting on and liking this page.”

Hundreds of fans immediately started writing their messages of condolence on the Facebook page, expressing their sadness that the talented 92-year-old business man was dead. And as usual, Twittersphere was frenzied over the death hoax.

Where as some trusting fans believed the post, others were immediately skeptical of the report, perhaps learning their lesson from the huge amount of fake death reports emerging about celebrities over recent months. Some pointed out that the news had not been carried on any major American network, indicating that it was a fake report, as the death of a business man of George Soros’ stature would be major news across networks.

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Their claim of a viral R.I.P. George Soros Facebook page is false. There is no such Facebook page. It is their standard fake fact check spiel for fake celebrity deaths.

The statement from George Soros’ unnamed rep confirming that he is not dead is exactly the same as statements from other reps whose celebrities MediaMass claimed were victims of death hoaxes, like Simon Cowell, Celine Dion, Cristiano Ronaldo, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Justin Bieber, Harrison Ford, Sylvester Stallone,, Tom Hanks, Dolly Parton, Lucy Liu, Clint Eastwood, and Melanie Laurent.

He joins the long list of celebrities who have been victimized by this hoax. He’s still alive and well, stop believing what you see on the Internet.

Hidden in the description page for the MediaMass Project is a disclaimer that they are a “satire” website. That’s the usual “cover” for websites peddling fake news.

Regardless of their reasons, anything posted by MediaMass.net must be considered as fake news, until proven otherwise.

Fact #5 : This Is Just Fake Celebrity News

This is yet another example of fake news about celebrities and other famous people, just like these examples:

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

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

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2023 Turkey Earthquake : Fake Photos + Scam Alert!

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Please watch out for fake photos + videos, as well as donation scams capitalising on the devastating 2023 earthquake in Turkey!

2023 Turkey Earthquake : Fake Photos Alert!

Many people have been sharing photos of the massive earthquake that devastated both Turkey and Syria on 6 February 2023.

Unfortunately, quite a number of fake photos on WhatsApp and social media. They also appear in TikTok and YouTube videos. Here are a few notable examples.

Old Man With Bread

This photo of an old man with bread is being shared as a lesson on why we should be humble, respectful and kind.

It took just 17secs to change his status from the owner of 33 buildings to a person who’s surviving on bread and finding shelter where he can.

#TurkeyEarthquake teaches us an important lesson that life is unpredictable and nothing is permanent. Be humble, respectful and kind.

How being humble, respectful and kind could have helped this poor man was not explained. Neither did the people sharing this “lesson” explain why this photo has been circulating since 1999…

Yes, this photo was taken by photographer, Abdurrahman Antakyalı, almost 24 years ago, after the Düzce Earthquake that occurred on 12 November, 1999.

Needless to say, that old man was not a rich man who owned 33 buildings. It is incredible that people who create a fake story about this poor man. If there is a lesson to be learned, it is that everyone should “verify before sharing“!

Dog Looking For Survivor

Many people are sharing photos of dogs looking for survivors, like this example below, which was shared with messages like:

The little heroes will save many lives. Pray for Turkey.

This is incredible! A dog in Turkey was seen digging trying to rescue its owner. When the dog failed to move the heavy debris, he started barking to ask for help while holding one of his owner’s fingers!

Syrian🇸🇾 Turkish🇹🇷 Earthquakes!

Dogs are sensitive to their owner ❤️😊

The truth is – that is one of many stock images of “dogs looking for people in earthquake” available online.

That photo, and similar examples featuring the same dog as well as others dogs were posted by Czech photographer, Jaroslav Noska, on November 2020.

This suggests that the photos were staged for use as stock photos, and not actual photos of a real disaster area, or even real rescue dogs.

Tryon The Rescue Dog

Many people shared this photo of a dirty-looking dog, claiming that it just saved 10 lives in the 2023 earthquake in Turkey.

This dog worked all night last night and saved 10 lives

This dog hero who worked the whole night and saved 10 lives in Turkey.

The truth is – this is Tryon the rescue dog who helped to search for victims of a deadly mudslide near Oso, Washington, in the United States.

This photo was taken by Rick Wilking, a freelance photographer for Reuters, on March 30, 2014. He provided the following caption for this photo:

Tryon the rescue dog waits to go through the decontamination area at the mudslide after searching for victims in Oso, Washington March 30, 2014.

2023 Turkey Earthquake : Donation Scam Alert!

People are not just posting those fake photos to “virtue signal” or increase their popularity, some are using them for donation scams!

Photos of Tryon the rescue dog above, for example, is being used to solicit donations for the people in Syria.

(Need Some reputable or NGO in Syria to pay or food. Shelter, blankets the Earthquake affects from the donations if gathered from this page.

As Sanction Syria from all over the world needs our help. Turkey has been helping by many.

He (Reputable) or NGO must be at the Earthquake affected areas of Syria and make video or come live while giving blankets, food, donation etc. Thanks )

– Those who want to Help/Donate. Message us. Thanks!

Even more egregious is this photo of a firefighter holding a child with a Turkish flag on his sleeve.

Friends, we have launched an aid campaign to reach people who have experienced an #earthquake disaster in Turkey.

#btc B : 1)n3C4GiFCzERTWd6nvCc4hTzvK8Viz88y

#eth: Ox2cff2ad875£68bf4ec5a478e505767c348dd61d

#Suns suns

The trouble is – the photo isn’t real! It was created by Major General Panagiotis Kotridis of the Aegean fire brigade using the AI image generator called Midjourney.

While they are capable of creating really realistic images, such artificial intelligence image generators often leave tell-tale mistakes.

In the viral photo below, you can see that the firefighter has six fingers on his right hand with an abnormally long thumb. His left hand is also missing, with a third “hand?” right next to it.

The BBC investigated further, and found that one of the crypto wallet addresses had been used in scam and spam tweets since 2018, while the other crypto wallet address had been posted on VK – the Russian social media website, together with pornographic content.

Ax Sharma, a cybersecurity expert at Sonatype, also pointed out that scammers are creating fake disaster relief accounts on social media to cheat people. One example is @TurkeyRelief on Twitter, which was created in January 2023 with just 31 followers and asked for donations using PayPal.

Scammers are also using TikTok Live to ask for donations, using captions like “Let’s help Turkey”, “Pray for Turkey” and “Donate for earthquake victims” over their videos. According to the BBC, TikTok takes up to 70% of the proceeds of these digital gifts.

So please WATCH OUT for such donation scams, which use real or fake photos / videos to trick people into sending them money.

If you want to help, please donate DIRECTLY to reputable organisations like the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Médecins San Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), OxFam, or the nearest Turkish embassy.

Please help us fight fake news – SHARE this article, and 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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Ivermectin Has Antiviral Effect vs. Omicron + All Other Strains?

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Did Kowa and Kitasato University prove that ivermectin has antiviral effect against the Omicron variant, and all other strains of COVID-19?

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

Claim : Ivermectin Has Antiviral Effect vs. Omicron + All Other Strains!

This viral post claims that a Kowa and Kitasato University study just proved that ivermectin has antiviral effect against Omicron and all other mutant strains of COVID-19!

The creators of this viral post also pointed out that this news was written by Reuters. It’s a long post, so feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!

Ivermectin Has ‘Antiviral Effect’ Against Omicron And All Other ‘Mutant Strains’ Of Covid-19

A Japanese pharmaceutical company, Kowa Co, said on Monday that the drug ivermectin has an “antiviral effect” against Omicron and other Covid-19 variants.

The finding was made with Tokyo’s Kitasato University on a joint non-clinical research project, which has been testing the drug as a potential treatment for the disease, according to Reuters.

Kowa says that ivermectin showed the “same antiviral effect” on all “mutant strains,” including Alpha, Delta and Omicron. The company also noted that ivermectin suppresses invasion of the virus and inhibits its replication.

“[Ivermectin] is expected to be applied as a therapeutic drug (tablet) for all new coronavirus infectious diseases,” reads the report.

According to xxxxx.xxx, Ivermectin showed an average 64% improvement as an early treatment, a 39% improvement as a late treatment and an 83% improvement as a prophylaxis, across 77 studies.

Show less

Note : I removed the two links in the original message because they lead to fake news websites.

Ivermectin Has No Clinical Antiviral Effect vs. Omicron + All Other Strains!

This is yet another piece of fake news created by ivermectin proponent and antivaxxers, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : Reuters Screwed Up

Reuters screwed up their reporting, and ivermectin proponents and antivaxxers quickly made use of that.

Reuters published their piece with the title, “Japan’s Kowa says ivermectin effective against Omicron in phase III trial“.

They compounded their mistake by promoting it as such in Twitter :

Japanese trading and pharmaceutical company Kowa Co Ltd said on Monday anti-parasite drug ivermectin has been found effective for treating the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in a Phase III trial.

The truth is Reuters misrepresented the Kowa press release. Reuters later corrected their story, but the damage was done.

CORRECTION: Japan's Kowa said anti-parasite drug ivermectin showed an 'antiviral effect' against Omicron and other variants of coronavirus in joint non-clinical research. The @WHO has warned against its use https://t.co/kBgUxaYjaL We will delete a tweet with a misleading headline pic.twitter.com/gX535ttNd3

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 31, 2022

Fact #2 : It Was A Non-Clinical Trial

In their press release, Kowa triumphantly reported that their study with Kitasato University showed that ivermectin has an “antiviral effect” against the Omicron variant.

However, that was a non-clinical trial – a lab study. Basically, they ran “test tube” studies of ivermectin on Omicron samples in the lab.

Just for context, a non-clinical trial (also called pre-clinical trial) is often conducted before actual clinical trials on human volunteers.

That’s because clinical trials are expensive and difficult to conduct, consisting of multiple phases :

Phase 1 : To study safety and dosage in healthy volunteers
Phase 2 : To study efficacy and side effects in a small group of volunteers with the disease
Phase 3 : To demonstrate that the drug has clinical benefits in a large group of volunteers, and look for adverse reactions.
Phase 4 : To ensure safety and efficacy after approval by health authorities.

What Kowa did is nowhere close to an actual clinical trial, much less a Phase 3 trial.

Fact #3 : Non-Clinical Results Do Not Mean Clinical Effects

It is important to point out that most successful non-clinical drug tests do not end up delivering safe and/or useful drugs that deliver clinical benefits.

That’s because many drugs that work well in the lab either do not deliver clinical benefits in actual human beings, or only work at doses toxic to human beings, or introduce adverse effects when taken at the required doses.

That is why it is critical for all drugs to undergo clinical trials.

I should also point out that soap and alcohol have both been proven to destroy the SARS-CoV-2 virus in lab tests. But that does not mean drinking or eating soap or alcohol will prevent or cure COVID-19.

Fact #4 : Kowa Confirmed Reuters’ Mistake

Kowa told Newsweek – “We sincerely apologise for any confusion. The press release announced that ivermectin was effective against [the] Omicron strain on in vitro study (i.e. non-clinical study), not in the clinical study. Presumably the original content was replaced with incorrect information in the process of translation.”

Fact #5 : Omicron Variant Is Still A SARS-CoV-2 Virus

The Kowa lab test is nothing special – ivermectin was first shown to work against the SARS-CoV-2 in lab experiments by Monash University back in April 2020.

The only difference was Kowa tested it against the Omicron variant. But because the Omicron variant is still a SARS-CoV-2 virus, it would have the same results as previous lab tests.

In other words – the Kowa lab test and press release were basically marketing fluff. In that respect, they scored big.

Fact #6 : Kowa Is Conducting A Phase 3 Trial

Kowa is conducting a Phase 3 trial of their 3 mg ivermectin tablet called K-237 (ClinicalTrial NCT05056883).

It will involve 1000 volunteers, half of whom will receive 0.3 to 0.4 mg/kg of their K-237 drug, once daily for 3 days.

This Phase 3 trial is not expected to be completed until 31 March 2022. That does not necessarily mean it will be successfully completed on time.

After all, Kitasato University’s own CORVETTE-01 Phase 2 study of ivermectin took a year to recruit just 214 volunteers, and has not even concluded despite kicking off in January 2021.

Fact #7 : I-TECH Study Showed No Clinical Benefit

One of the most recent randomised clinical trials of ivermectin was the I-TECH study involving 490 volunteers.

Like many previous clinical trials, it showed that despite ivermectin demonstrating effectiveness in lab tests, it has no obvious clinical benefits.

Study Findings	Results	Significance
Symptom Recovery by Day 5	Very similar	Not significant (p=0.77)
Progress to Severe COVID-19	IVM : 21.2% SOC : 17.3%	SOC : -3.9 points Not significant (p=0.30)
Time to Severe COVID-19	IVM : 3 days (±2.3) SOC : 2.9 days (±1.8)	IVM : +0.1 day Not significant (p=0.68)
ICU Admission	NA	Not significant
Mechanical Ventilation	NA	Not significant
Symptom Recovery	NA	Not significant
Blood Parameters	NA	Not significant
Chest X-Ray Resolution	NA	Not significant
Adverse Events	3X more in IVM group	Significant
Mortality	NA	Not significant (p=0.09)

Fact #8 : Ivermectin Clinical Studies Show No Significant Benefit

Here is a meta-analysis of ivermectin RCTs (randomised control trials), with three fraudulent studies removed – Elgazzar, Okomus and Niaee.

Results towards the left suggest a clinical benefit for ivermectin. For the I-TECH study, they used its most promising result – post-study mortality, but even that did not reach clinical significance (p<0.05)

Taken in totality, the latest meta-analysis show that the clinical effect of ivermectin on COVID-19 patients is NOT SIGNIFICANT enough to warrant its use as a treatment.

Fact #9 : Ivermectin Prophylaxis Is Not Cheap

Ivermectin proponents always claim that Big Pharma is against ivermectin because it’s dirt cheap. Ironically, they are now promoting Kowa, which itself is a member of Big Pharma.

While ivermectin is cheap to make and was cheap to buy earlier, its price has been jacked up by the very people promoting it as a cure for COVID-19.

And unlike vaccines, ivermectin is meant to be taken on a regular basis, even daily or with expensive supplements. The end result – ivermectin protocols are far more expensive than COVID-19 vaccines.

The truth is – there is far more money to be made from ivermectin protocols like I-MASK+, than COVID-19 vaccines.

Don’t believe me? Take out your calculator and do the math yourself.

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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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