| schema:text
| - Fact Check: Sham list of Covid-19 variants' 'release dates' viral on internet
A list of Covid-19 variants in Spanish with their respective 'release dates' is making the rounds on social media, with the claim that these variants are being released as part of a global conspiracy plan.
Listen to Story
India Today Fact Check
This list is baseless, there is no evidence that these organisations created any such list.
At a time when the world is dealing with deadly Covid-19 variants such as Delta, some people are claiming that these variants are being ‘released’ according to a global conspiracy plan. It is claimed that the purpose of these variants is to create panic so that more and more people get themselves vaccinated. And those who will get vaccinated could allegedly be easily controlled.
Netizens making this sensational claim are circulating a list of Covid-19 variants in Spanish language and their respective ‘release dates’.
On the right-hand side of the viral list, one can see logos of World Health Organisation (WHO), John Hopkins University, World Economic Forum (WEF), and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. People are saying that these are the organisations that have jointly created this list and are part of this conspiracy.
One such Facebook post read, "These are the PLANNED VARIANTS with the dates when they will be “released” to the media. The shot does NOT prevent a disease that does not exist. It installs an operating system in your body that will be manipulated with 5G system, in order to control you and enforce your compliance (sic)”
The archived version of this claim can be seen here.
India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found that the viral list is completely fictitious. Moreover, the purported 'release dates' mentioned in the list do not match with the actual dates when these variants were notified by WHO.
This claim is quite viral on Facebook and Twitter.
Let us look into the various elements of this claim one by one.
Claim 1: WHO, John Hopkins University, WEF, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have jointly prepared a list of Covid-19 variants to be released before the media on scheduled dates.
Fact: There is no evidence that any of these organisations have created any such list. We checked the official websites and social media handles of these organisations but found nothing which points towards any such list.
We reached out to the WEF, and they brushed aside the viral claim. Replying to our email, Amanda Russo, Head of Media Content, World Economic Forum told us, "We have not seen this list before and we are not involved in its creation."
Claim 2: While the Delta variant was 'released' in June 2021, Epsilon, Zeta, Eta, Iota, Kappa, Lambda, and Theta variants would be 'released' between July 2021 to January 2022.
Fact: The actual dates when these variants were brought to public notice are completely different from the dates mentioned in the viral list.
While the earliest documentation of the Delta variant sample dates back to October 2020, the origin dates for Epsilon, Zeta, Eta, Iota, Kappa, and Lambda go back to March, April, December, November, October, and December 2020 respectively, as per WHO. The theta variant's earliest documented sample was found in the Philippines in January 2021.
It is significant to note that in May 2021, WHO had announced easy-to-remember labels for key variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, using letters of the Greek alphabet.
Probably, this could be the reason why the timeline of the viral schedule starts from June 2021.
Claim 3: Covid-19 vaccines install an operating system in our bodies. This system would gradually manipulate our body through 5G technology to control us.
Fact: This is just another conspiracy theory surrounding Covid-19. Since the pandemic began, many similar theories have been coined such as microchips being inserted through vaccines. India Today has debunked many such claims.
Now, as far as the 5G theory is concerned, both WHO and the Government of India have clarified that there is no link between the 5G technology and the spread of Covid-19.
As given in the 'Mythbusters' section of WHO, viruses cannot travel on radio waves or mobile networks. Covid-19 is spreading in many countries that do not have 5G mobile networks.
Spanish website Newtral had also debunked this claim earlier.
It can, therefore, be concluded that the fictitious list of Covid-19 variants and their 'release dates' is being circulated with the sinister motive of creating panic and discouraging the masses from getting vaccinated.
Please share it on our at 73 7000 7000
You can also send us an email at factcheck@intoday.com
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)