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BBC groups are fact-checking some of the most popular fake and deceptive coronavirus stories on social networks. Jack Goodman and Plants Carmichael bring together what’s been debunked this week by BBC Monitoring, Trending and Truth Check.
Celebrity News Fake Facebook posts about The Rock
Thousands of posts have actually been flowing on Facebook offering big prize money to “help” individuals financially affected by the coronavirus outbreak.
Although the competition is clearly phony, it is being shared in many languages. A lot of examples include unrelated video footage or photos of Dwayne Johnson, an actor referred to as The Rock.
Individuals are welcomed to pick a “prize” from a list that corresponds with the first letter of their name. Some individuals have actually left bank information in the comments, others request financial aid.
The most widely shared example we’ve seen consists of a link for people to “collect their reward”. It looks like a phishing fraud similar to others seen earlier in the coronavirus outbreak
A video accompanying one of the posts reveals someone handling stacks of cash and has actually had more than four million views.
William Mitchell, who made the initial video utilizing phony or “prop” money for his YouTube channel, states it was utilized without his understanding. “Since I started making prop cash videos back in 2018 scammers have actually been re-uploading my material without my approval,” he informed the BBC.
Johnson has actually previously been the subject of similar frauds, and in 2018 informed his fans: “Be alert, be clever, concern it, report it … and do not purchase into these phony Facebook accounts.”
Celebrity News The organic remedy offered official approval by a president
The WHO is clear in its advice that there is no medicine currently available that can avoid or cure Covid-19
However, the president of Madagascar has unveiled what he claims to be a “preventative remedy” this week.
The herbal tonic offered under the name Covid-Organics is stemmed from artemisia – a plant which contains an ingredient used to deal with malaria – in addition to other plants sourced within the nation.
President Andry Rajoelina stated tests have been performed and claimed the remedy had cured two individuals in Madagascar, the island nation off the east coast of Africa.
There has been no evidence and no peer-reviewed research into its effectiveness versus Covid-19
President Rajoelina revealed the partial lifting of quarantine steps on the exact same day as the launch of the beverage.
Regional media reports that more than 1,000 soldiers were been released to distribute the drink in the capital, Antananarivo.
Video footage shows people queuing for the brew, which is being distributed for free to the most susceptible residents. It’s also being sold in grocery stores.
Limit Planck Institute in Germany is currently testing artemisia versus Covid-19 but no results have yet been released.
The Democratic Republic of Congo said it has actually started research study into the plant.
Celebrity News Orange peel myth
A video advising those infected with coronavirus usage warm water, orange peel and a vapour rub consisting of menthol to kill bacteria and release “all the contaminants” overcame 1.6 million views on the video-sharing site TikTok before being hidden.
It had actually currently been reposted by a popular Instagram account, where it was viewed an even more one million times before it was gotten rid of.
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TikTok
The fruit peel misconception appears in great deals of other videos on TikTok claiming to use a “treatment” for Covid-19
There is no proof that warm water or citrus fruits can prevent or cure coronavirus. Breathing in hot steam, likewise advised in the video, can be extremely unsafe and there’s no evidence that it works
There have been other examples of misguiding information flowing on TikTok. A variety of videos spreading conspiracy theories that wrongly link 5G to coronavirus have been published in recent weeks.
As well as supporting 5G conspiracies, some of the videos have actually encouraged attacks on telephone masts with the hashtag 5Gtowerchallenge and included harassment of telecoms workers.
The social networks platform has since eliminated a number of videos of this nature which were flagged to it by BBC News.
A TikTok spokesperson informed the BBC: “We do not allow misinformation, consisting of conspiracy theories, which could cause damage to individuals on TikTok or the broader public.”
TikTok also stated it was “limiting the searchability of any emerging conspiracy theory-related hashtags”.
Celebrity News Aids research is not to blame
An interview with a Nobel-Prize winning researcher who has suggested the coronavirus was produced in a lab has actually been extensively shared on Facebook.
Luc Montagnier is the co-discoverer of HIV and was talked to on French TV last week where he declared the infection was accidentally released from a laboratory in Wuhan. The infection, he said, is the result of research into an Aids vaccine.
However, in spite of widespread online speculation, ” there is no proof of any kind that the Sars-CoV-2 virus (which triggers Covid-19) was launched mistakenly from a laboratory” states BBC science editor Paul Rincon.
Peer-reviewed clinical analysis of the proof suggests the infection came from animals.
The video has been shared 12,000 times and has actually clocked up more than 700,000 views after it was published on the Italian League celebration’s main Facebook page today.
Celebrity News A plot to manage world population
The coronavirus pandemic has been produced by “shadow international powers” in an effort to minimize world population, according to Vladimir Kvachkov, a Russian ex-military intelligence officer in a YouTube interview.
Mr Kvachkov says there is clinical evidence the coronavirus was made artificially, however this has actually been extensively dismissed by researchers who say genome sequencing shows that it originated from animals.
Uploaded last month, it has actually had practically 9 million views and is still being shared on Facebook in different languages. It was likewise translated into English today.
His looks on other Russian YouTube channels where he talks about the pandemic have generated numerous thousands of views.
Additional reporting by Olga Robinson, Alistair Coleman, Marianna Spring, Omega Rakotomalala and Reha Kansara.
