KUALA LUMPUR – Deputy National Unity Minister Datuk Seri Ti Lian Ker has been slammed for purportedly spreading Covid-19 hoaxes on his Twitter page last night.
In a tweet at 8.23pm yesterday, Ti had raised the question if Covid-19 was planned, linking it to Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Event201.
“COVID19 PLANNED? Bill Gates organized a coronavirus pandemic exercise, right before it happened! This pandemic exercise was called Event201 and took place in October 2019, literally right before the outbreak. Their conclusion was that all of humanity must be vaccinated…”
Hours later, at 5.03am this morning, he replied that his earlier tweet that was a quote on Bill Gates was copied from an article published by a site called the Madison Area Lyme Support Group.
“The quote on Bill Gates was copied from the article and the question mark on the contents therein. The question mark was meant for this article which was shared, debunked and continued to be shared!” said Ti.
Soon after his tweets, many netizens said the source he quoted was untrustworthy and most of the “questions” raised have been debunked last year.
Some of them even tagged Science, Technology, and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin and Health Minister Datuk Seri Adham Baba to flag Ti’s comments.
Sometime after 10am today, Ti deleted the tweet he posted last night, saying it was a cut-and-paste error.
“My statement was in reference to this article which was shared via WhatsApp and thus my tongue in cheek tweet,” he.
COVID19 PLANNED ?
— #uniTi (@tilianker) May 9, 2021
This was my only statement “COVID19 PLANNED?
The earlier tweet which I have cut and paste was an error and deleted.
My statement was in reference to this article which was shared via WhatsApp and thus my tongue in cheek tweet. https://t.co/WIdhoOsxvP
In an article published on March 26, 2020 by USA Today, rumours linked the pandemic to Gates and Event201, alleging the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Economic Forum (WEF) had conducted a simulation in 2019.
It was reported that Event 201 was a simulation exercise hosted in October 2019 by the Johns Hopkins Centre for Health Security with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the WEF.
The event had medical professionals, policy experts and business analysts focused on how institutions would respond to the onset of a deadly virus. The Centre for Health Security has hosted three pandemic simulations prior to Event 201.
In a statement to USA Today, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation cited increased partnerships and contributions to pandemic preparedness since the 2014-15 Ebola outbreak.
AFP Fact Check also cleared up many conspiracy theories surrounding Gates.
“Doctored photos and fabricated news articles crafted by conspiracy theorists – shared thousands of times on social media platforms and messaging apps, in various languages – have gone as far as accusing the Microsoft founder of creating the outbreak.
“Gates, who has pledged US$250 million (RM1.03 billion) to efforts to fight the pandemic, is the latest in a string of online targets despite the World Health Organisation’s efforts to fight what it called an ‘infodemic’ – misinformation fanned by panic and confusion about the virus,” the site reported.
AFP also reported that there were widely shared posts with photographs of Gates attending a “coronavirus conference” in 2015.
“In reality, he was meeting with a research institute that had filed for a patent to potentially be used for a vaccine against a different type of coronavirus that affects animals. Like many scientists, Gates had already warned of an imminent pandemic years before the novel coronavirus outbreak.” – The Vibes, May 9, 2021
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