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| - Fact Check: DO NOT fall for prank video featuring too good to be true 'Disposable Paper Phones'
This video does not show a real device. It is from an American prank show named "The Carbonaro Effect".
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India Today Fact Check
This video does not show a real device. It is from an American prank show named ”The Carbonaro Effect”.
The fast-paced world of technology never stops surprising us, constantly pushing its products to become smarter and better. For instance, the sleek and thin smartphones we hold in our hands today were once bulky as bricks. And now, the word on social media is that “Disposable Paper Phones” are going to be launched soon. Thin as paper, the future of smartphones appears to be disposable.
A video of this product’s demonstration has been making the rounds on social media and shows a man using this device to call and text other people, leaving them dumbstruck.
Sharing this video, a person wrote: “Disposable paper phones coming soon, as the world gets more technologically advanced!” IPS officer Swati Lakra also shared the video of the disposable paper phone. One person commented, “When used by anti-socials, it is a big threat to society. The culprits may misuse the technology.” Archives of such posts can be found here and here.
AFWA found that the star of this product is not real and that this is a prank video.
AFWA Probe
Using a keyword search, we found a video shared on June 17, 2016, on the YouTube channel of TruTV, an American TV channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Around twenty seconds into it, we found the same clip currently going viral. The video was titled: “The Carbonaro Effect - Disposable Paper Phone.”
“The Carbonaro Effect” is truTV’s comedic series in which magician Michal Carbonaro interacts with people at random public places and surprises them with his tricks and pranks.
According to his website, Carbonaro has also made frequent television appearances in shows such as “Happily Divorced”, “30 Rock”, “Grey’s Anatomy”, and “CSI Miami”. Other episodes of “The Carbonaro Effect” series also feature people mind-boggled by magical products like a self-cleaning closet, Instant mirror repair spray, and a can of glue, a sniff of which can take you twenty minutes into the future — all pranks.
We looked for more information about disposable paper phones and found that Randice-Lisa Altschul, an American toy developer, and inventor, was issued a patent for the disposable cellphone in November 1999. She named it the Phone-Card-Phone, a device of the thickness of three credit cards, made from recycled paper products. It offered 60 minutes of calling time and a hands-free attachment, and users could add more minutes or throw the device away after their calling time was used up. The working model of the Phone-Card-Phone, however, does not match the one demonstrated in the viral video.
Google also came up with a printable Paper Phone, an app that lets you print a personal booklet of vital information you need directly from your phone to a sheet of paper.
However, the device in the viral video remains miles away from the existing technology.
(Written by Sanjana Saxena)
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