Indians will continue to be Indians.
As the nation observed the ‘Janta curfew’ called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, March 22, they also took part in a nation-wide event to mark the curfew.
At 5 PM, Indians queued on their balconies and doorsteps, and clapped, banged on pots, pans and plates. They created the “sound” to thank the healthcare and essential service workers on the front line of the fight against #Coronavirus.
They took PM Modi’s ‘taali bajao, thaali bajao’ advice and acted on it.
After the exercise, they went back inside their homes, and managed to convince, send and receive a fake message on WhatsApp about the event.
During Diwali every year, the same message of “NASA sharing visuals of India from space” starts circulating with an image. Every single year, without fail. That’s definitely fake.
The new message, also on similar lines, stating how ‘NASA satellite videos LIVE telecast have shown that the coronavirus is retreating in India thanks to the people’s efforts at 5 PM on 22nd March.”
If this wasn’t unscientific enough, the message continues with “The cosmic level sound waves generated have been detected by NASA’s SD13 wave detector and a recently made bio-satellite has shown COVID-19 strain diminishing and weakening.”
Soon, people started sharing this forwarded message on Twitter.
You seem to have forgotten clapping and beating plates (this actually happened at 5 PM across India today). Apparently NASA has confirmed that it worked. pic.twitter.com/V40gaW10ZX
— Brihadeesh (@_peregrinator_) March 22, 2020
@NASA can you knock some sense into these people. Do it before @UNESCO Gives another recognition to India for beating #COVID?19 #StayHomeSaveLives #FakeNews pic.twitter.com/eGiQu2oAKq
— Yogesh Khairajani (@Wittyyogesh) March 22, 2020
Congrats India. Seems like the war against #CoViD has been won. Whatsapp has started receiving results straight from NASA. https://t.co/A11BsvJIq5
— Kahanikaar (@vishalvkumar) March 22, 2020
It’s 2020, and we really shouldn’t have to be ‘fact-checking’ this for you, since the chances of receiving a genuine WhatsApp forward in a Desi family group is very, very low. But, here it is, anyway.
The forwarded message is (obviously) fake.
For starters, NASA can’t record sounds from the earth in isolation. There is no possible way, scientifically, or otherwise, to do that. Sounds recorded of the earth can be recorded, then isolated from the background noise, which in this case, the clapping and the banging was the background noise. So no, NASA did not record any sounds of India’s clamour. Here’s how NASA does record its sounds, though.
Secondly, there is no such this as an “SD-13 Wave Detector”, that is owned by NASA. Here’s a list of a general idea of the equipment NASA owns on the electro-magentic spectrum, and this ‘wave detector’ is definitely not on it.
So the viral message, is fake, through and through.
But this wasn’t the only bit of fake news. There were a lot more, unscientific claims.
NASA has said that as of today India is the only country that can be heard from space. This is happening for the first time in human history.
So proud of my country! UNESCO has declared this the best measure taken against Covid-19.
Please RT to the maximum.
— Rajesh Bysani (@fartfree) March 22, 2020
NASA released map with highest decibels registered across all parts of India. This is what am expecting soon.
— sobanbabu (@Sobanism) March 22, 2020
Two months ago, Modi met scientists of ISRO and Nasa to discuss #coronavirus, where he wondered if it would be possible to spray chemical all over India with the help of a satellite.
— Parth MN (@parthpunter) March 21, 2020
NASA HAS DECLARED INDIA AS MOST MUSICAL COUNTRY IN WORLD
— PP (@momoskhanehaibc) March 22, 2020
BREAKING NEWS!!!????
NASA has announced that the astronauts on their International Space Station could hear our loud clapping noises from India at 11:30 am GMT
We indians have finally made our voices hear loud and clear across the world!!!
JAI HIND #clapforourcarers— Leena Mathew (@leenasind) March 22, 2020
Some people also played on the ‘NASA Diwali message’ and produced a gem of a meme, we really wanted to applaud.
No one
Literally no oneIndian Uncles on whatsApp:
India today at 5.00 PM picture taken by NASA pic.twitter.com/vNUve98QdL
— Noor Sayed (@imNoorsayed) March 22, 2020
NASA has released satellite image of india today.. pic.twitter.com/gpBaQqQ6I5
— sameer khan (@306f32c65f9a46e) March 22, 2020
NASA predicted what India might look like today pic.twitter.com/cSju2nVsxS
— Reddit India (@redditindia) March 22, 2020
Amazing picture of India on March 22, 5pm – from NASA pic.twitter.com/v1wrGPqVYY
— rabhinder kannan (@rabhinderkannan) March 22, 2020
Nasa shared pics of India..#5baje5minute#ThaliBajao pic.twitter.com/BQQQjLjYKB
— Sardar G (@Woke_Sardar) March 22, 2020
NASA releases satellite image of India today at 5pm pic.twitter.com/73C5xiUw3i
— Hatim Ali (@orkyaboltetum) March 22, 2020
Nasa has just released a photo of India from Space. Real. Not fake. pic.twitter.com/IEmYrBMYnl
— (@theAmeyRane) March 22, 2020
Indians becoming self-aware about the fake WhatsApp forwards is something that surely deserves claps. Slow claps.
News18