The flu season is here and the news of a new strain circulating across the world has many people wondering if they should be worried. The World Health Organization warns that this year’s cold weather could lead to an outbreak, but beyond that there are some more surprising facts about what you can expect from your next round with illness.
The news industry is complicated, and fake articles and photographs are often disseminated on social media. Every week, the editorial staff at Blasting News identifies the most common hoaxes and incorrect information to help you distinguish truth from untruth. Here are some of the most widely circulated misleading statements this week, none of which are true.
World
Anti-vaccine protests in Ottawa in 2022 are not seen in this image.
False claim: A photo of a large crowd in a square was shared on Twitter and Facebook, with the claim that it was taken recently in Ottawa, Canada’s capital, during a demonstration in support of the so-called Freedom Convoy, a series of protests by truck drivers across the country against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government’s health measures, including mandatory vaccination to cross the US-Canada border.
Truth:
- According to a reverse image search, the photograph posted on social media was shot on March 10, 1991, at a rally in Moscow’s Manezhnaya Square in favor of Boris Yeltsin, who eventually became President of the Russian Federation from 1991 to 1999.
- Approximately 500,000 people participated in the rally days before a vote on the future of the Soviet Union, according to the website of the library of the French school of political science SciencesPo.
USA
‘Flu-like’ symptoms are not caused by 5G networks.
False claim: Social media posts allege that 5G technology’s radiation causes individuals to become ill with flu-like symptoms.
Truth:
- “To date, there is no consistent or reliable scientific evidence of health concerns related by exposure to radio frequency energy generated by mobile phones,” the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) writes on its website in an article titled “Scientific Evidence for Mobile Phone Safety.”
- “While many details of 5G remain unknown, it is clear that 5G mobile phones will utilize frequencies covered by existing FCC exposure recommendations (300 kHz-100 GHz), and the conclusions made based on the present body of scientific knowledge encompass these frequencies,” the agency says.
- The misleading claims come as US telecom firms spend heavily in constructing the infrastructure required for 5G rollout, and as the nation grapples with the Covid-19 outbreak, which is causing flu-like symptoms in many people.
USA
Whoopi Goldberg is incorrect in her assertion that the Holocaust was “not about race.”
False claim: Actress and co-host Whoopi Goldberg said on Monday’s broadcast of ABC’s “The View” that the Holocaust’s persecution of Jews was “not about race.” “Let’s be honest, the Holocaust had nothing to do with race.
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It’s all about man’s inhumanity to man, that’s all. During a conversation about a Tennessee school district’s decision to prohibit “Maus,” a Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic book about the Holocaust, Goldberg observed, “These are two groups of white people.”
Truth:
- In the midst of the uproar surrounding Whoopi Goldberg’s comments, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum tweeted: “Racism was integral to Nazi philosophy.” Jews were characterized by their race rather than their faith. Genocide and mass murder were motivated by Nazi racial ideas.”
- “I stated that the Holocaust wasn’t about race and was instead about man’s inhumanity to man,” Whoopi Goldberg apologized on Tuesday’s edition of “The View,” saying, “But it is certainly about race, since Hitler and the Nazis deemed Jews to be an inferior race.” As I already said, I apologize for my remarks and accept my apologies.” According to a statement from ABC News president Kate Godwin, she has been suspended for two weeks to “take time to think and learn about the consequences of her words.”
Latin America is a continent in South America.
ID cards for dogs and cats were not approved in Spain.
False claim: Facebook users in Latin America is a continent in South America. have shared posts claiming that Spanish authorities approved on January 5, 2022 the creation of a mandatory identity document for dogs and cats.
The postings are followed by a supposed ID card, which looks like a regular ID card but has an image of a dog on it.
Truth:
- The legislation 17/2021, which modifies the legal framework for pets, went into effect on January 5, 2022 in Spain. The new legislation, on the other hand, does not require dogs and cats to have an identification certificate.
- “Today the revision of the Civil Code comes into effect, which no longer defines animals as ‘things’ but as’sentient beings,’” the Spanish Ministry of Social Rights declared in a tweet on January 5. This, together with the upcoming Animal Protection Law, is a significant step forward for animal welfare in our nation.”
Brazil
The Taliban has not prohibited the usage of mobile phones in Afghanistan.
False claim: A video of military men smashing electrical gadgets has been posted on social media in Brazil.
The photographs were captured in Afghanistan, according to the postings, after the Taliban enacted a new legislation punishing anybody found with a mobile phone in the nation with the death sentence.
Truth:
- A reverse image search reveals that the video uploaded on social media was shot in Pakistan in December 2021.
- The Pakistan flag can be seen on the uniforms of the military troops in the video.
- Several local media sites released the footage in December 2021 in response to claims of customs employees in Karachi destroying illicit goods.
Asia
A sword that belonged to the prophet Mohammed is not seen in the image.
False claim: Facebook users in Bangladesh posted a photograph of a historic sword on exhibit at a museum, along with the claim that it belonged to Islam’s founder, the prophet Mohammed.
Truth:
- The sword in the photograph is from the National Library of France’s (BnF) collection in Paris.
- According to BnF, the item is a “Boabdil sword,” produced circa 1480 in Toledo, Spain, during the Muslim Nasrid dynasty’s reign, long after the prophet Muhammad’s death in the 7th century.
- “Only Allah is triumphant,” says an Arabic inscription on the sword, which is the Nasrid dynasty’s slogan.
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