Old video of Doctors spreading misinformation on COVID-19 doing rounds on social media again
New Delhi: In a video that is widely being circulated again across social media platforms, a group of doctors can be seen discussing how Corona Virus is only the flu and the need for isolation of patients and lockdown in countries was unnecessary.
The old video is once again doing the rounds on social media including WhatsApp and Facebook, in the wake of the spike in COVID cases in India and other countries that has triggered reports of COVID-imposed lockdowns and restrictions.
A fact-check on the video revealed the 3-minute video from a conference that was organized by conspiracy theorists against the Corona Virus by a European group called World Doctors Alliance.
The original video is about 18 minutes and was posted on ACU 2020 website in October 2020 which was later taken down by YouTube for violating its terms of service, a report published in the News Wire stated.
In the video, Dr. Dolores Cahill, former Professor of Immunology at the University College Dublin is heard talking about Covid-19 asserting that the virus was only the flu that can be treated without necessarily imposing lockdowns and restrictions on people.
"We are here to say that there is good news. The coronavirus is a seasonal virus that causes illness and symptoms from December to April. And for people who have symptoms, there are treatments like inhaled steroids, hydroxychloroquine, and zinc. So there is no need for the lockdown. There is no need for fear, there is no need for masks or social distancing, or for quarantining people. They are locking people in their homes for last year's flu for which there is an effective treatment. So we want to communicate this message to the people that there is no need for fear."
This viral clip is circulating on Facebook with the caption, "Now what is this--- Breaking News: WHO accepted its mistake and took a complete U-turn, saying that Corona is a seasonal virus, it is a cough, cold and sore throat that occurs during the change of weather, there is a need to panic. WHO now says that the corona patient neither needs to be isolated nor does the public need social distancing. It is also not transmitted from one patient to another. See WHO's press conference. .... Pls share it maximum. (sic)"
Another report published in Boomlive.in stated that the organization World Doctor’s Alliance was accused of spreading misinformation related to the pandemic earlier as well.
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'Traitor' jibe: HC issues notice to police, Sena MLA on Kamra's plea against FIR
Mumbai (PTI): The Bombay High Court on Tuesday issued a notice to Mumbai police and Shiv Sena MLA Murji Patel on comedian Kunal Kamra's plea challenging an FIR lodged against him for allegedly passing a "traitor" jibe at Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
A division bench of Justices Sarang Kotwal and S M Modak said it would hear Kamra's petition on April 16.
The comedian has failed to appear before the Mumbai police for questioning despite three summons issued to him.
Following a complaint by Sena MLA Murji Patel, the Khar police in Mumbai last month registered the FIR against Kamra under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 353(1)(b) (statements conducing to public mischief) and 356(2) (defamation).
"Issue notice to the respondents (police and Patel). They shall take instructions and respond to the plea," the HC said.
Three FIRs registered against the comedian at Nashik Rural, Jalgaon and Nashik (Nandgaon) have also been transferred to the Khar police.
Kamra's counsel Navroz Seervai informed the Bombay HC bench that the Madras High Court on Monday extended till April 17 the earlier interim transit anticipatory bail granted to the comedian.
The petitioner has offered in writing thrice to the police to allow him to appear for questioning via video conference in light of the dangers and threat to his life, Seervai said.
"It seems that the police authorities are not so keen on recording his statement but more on bringing him here physically," the senior counsel claimed.
Kamra is presently in Tamil Nadu where he has been residing since 2021, as per his plea.
"This is not a case of murder. It is an FIR that has stemmed from a stand-up comedy show. He (Kamra) is ready to cooperate with the probe but through video conference," Seervai said.
The bench said it would consider all issues on April 16.
During the show, stand-up comedian Kamra had taunted Shinde, without taking his name, using a modified version of a Hindi song from the film "Dil To Pagal Hai" where he called him a "gaddar" (traitor).
The comedian went on to joke about how Shinde rebelled against Uddhav Thackeray's leadership (in June 2022).
In his plea filed on April 5, Kamra claimed the complaints against him were violative of his fundamental rights of freedom of speech and expression, right to practice any profession and business and right to life and liberty guaranteed under the Constitution of India.
He sought for the FIR to be quashed, claiming the allegations, even if taken at face value, do not constitute an offence.
The comedian also sought the HC to protect him from any coercive action including arrest, seizure of his personal electronic devices and examination of his financial transactions and accounts.
"To permit the investigation to continue would constitute a frontal assault on the freedom of speech and expression. Should a citizen's right to comment on the political developments and actions of political leaders be criminalised in this manner?" the petition said.
Kamra said his remarks made regarding the split in the Shiv Sena, Shinde quitting Uddhav Thackeray's Sena faction and being sworn in as the chief minister at the time (in 2022) are all part of records.
The plea said the FIR has been registered on a stand-up comedy performance, which provides satirical commentary on various social and political events of the country.
There has been a gross abuse of process and the malafide deployment of the criminal justice machinery by a member of the state's legislative assembly, resulting in a patent violation of a citizen's fundamental rights, it claimed.
As per the petition, Kamra wrote the show's script in July 2024 and performed it on 60 occasions between August last year and February 2025.
A recording of the show was uploaded only in March 2025, pursuant to which case was lodged, it said.
