{"id":572263,"date":"2021-06-23T18:36:42","date_gmt":"2021-06-23T22:36:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=572263"},"modified":"2021-06-23T18:36:53","modified_gmt":"2021-06-23T22:36:53","slug":"fact-check-did-imperial-college-london-send-this-memo-about-an-upcoming-permanent-lockdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fact-check-did-imperial-college-london-send-this-memo-about-an-upcoming-permanent-lockdown\/","title":{"rendered":"FACT CHECK: Did Imperial College London Send This Memo About An Upcoming \u2018Permanent Lockdown\u2019?"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffact-check-did-imperial-college-london-send-this-memo-about-an-upcoming-permanent-lockdown%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=572263&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>An image <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/photo?fbid=334027008346153&#038;set=gm.349450489873890\">shared on Facebook<\/a> purportedly shows a memo from Imperial College London about a plan to permanently lock down the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7220657\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7220657\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-large wp-image-7220657\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Screen-Shot-2021-06-22-at-2.49.15-PM-620x382-1.png\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Screen-Shot-2021-06-22-at-2.49.15-PM-620x382-1.png 620w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Screen-Shot-2021-06-22-at-2.49.15-PM-195x120.png 195w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Screen-Shot-2021-06-22-at-2.49.15-PM-768x473-1.png 768w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Screen-Shot-2021-06-22-at-2.49.15-PM-1536x946-1.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Screen-Shot-2021-06-22-at-2.49.15-PM-2048x1262-1.png 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\"  style=\"display:none\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-7220657\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Facebook\/Screenshot<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span><strong>Verdict: False<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>There is no evidence that Imperial College London sent such a memo. The college released a statement labeling the memo as \u201can obvious fake.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><span><strong>Fact Check:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/photo?fbid=334027008346153&#038;set=gm.349450489873890\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">image<\/a> shows what appears to be a lengthy memorandum allegedly sent by Imperial College London professor and epidemiologist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imperial.ac.uk\/people\/neil.ferguson\">Neil Ferguson<\/a> to eight of his colleagues. \u201cNext Steps \u2013 Permanent Lockdown of the UK (Private &#038; Confidential),\u201d reads the memo\u2019s subject line. The memo goes on to outline a plan to trick the British people, with the help of the media and the government, into accepting a permanent lockdown due to a \u201cspike in the new Indian and Nepal \u2018variants\u2019 of the \u2018virus,\u2019\u201d which the memo calls a \u201cre-branding of Hay Fever.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A mutated version of the COVID-19 virus known as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/health-57157496\">Delta variant<\/a> was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-health-coronavirus-who-delta-idCAKCN2DU1HN\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">first identified<\/a> in India and is \u201cwell on its way to becoming the dominant variant globally,\u201d according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/multi-media\/details\/who-press-conference-on-coronavirus-disease-(covid-19)---18-june-2021#\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">statement<\/a> made by Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the World Health Organization\u2019s chief scientist, during a June 18 press conference. The so-called Nepal variant mentioned in the alleged memo appears to be the Delta variant with an additional mutation, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/qz.com\/india\/2022451\/what-we-know-so-far-about-the-nepal-variant-or-delta-plus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Quartz India<\/a>. Neither variant is the same as Hay Fever, which is an allergic reaction to outdoor or indoor allergens that produces cold-like symptoms, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mayoclinic.org\/diseases-conditions\/hay-fever\/symptoms-causes\/syc-20373039\">Mayo Clinic<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The memo does not appear to be real. Had Imperial College London sent out a memo detailing a plan to instate a permanent lockdown in the U.K., British media outlets would have reported on it, yet a search of news outlets, including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/?s=Imperial+College\">The Sun<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/search?q=Imperial+college+london+memo&#038;page=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BBC News<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/search\/#gsc.tab=0&#038;gsc.q=Imperial%20College%20London&#038;gsc.sort=\">Metro<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.co.uk\/search?source=search-page&#038;q=Imperial+College+London\">The Sunday Times<\/a> turned up no such report. Check Your Fact searched the U.K. Department of Health and Social Care\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/organisations\/department-of-health-and-social-care\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">website<\/a>, but found no mention of an impending permanent lockdown.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, Imperial College London released a statement on June 18 on its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imperial.ac.uk\/news\/224413\/correcting-misinformation-fake-memorandum\/\">website<\/a> calling the memo \u201can obvious fake\u201d and denying that it originated with the school or Ferguson. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/checkyourfact.com\/2020\/06\/19\/fact-check-uk-government-letter-proposed-mandatory-rfid-microchips\/\">(RELATED: Viral Image Claims To Show UK Government Letter About Proposed Mandatory Microchips)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis fake memo entitled \u2018Next Steps \u2013 Permanent Lockdown of the UK (Private &#038; Confidential)\u2019 was not written by Neil Ferguson,\u201d reads the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imperial.ac.uk\/news\/224413\/correcting-misinformation-fake-memorandum\/\">statement<\/a>. \u201cThis totally untrue piece of disinformation was constructed and spread by extremists and has no association with Imperial College London, the UK government, or its scientific advisors.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The U.K. has lifted several COVID-19 restrictions, though many remain in place as the country\u2019s health officials are concerned about the emergence of the Delta variant, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/explainers-52530518\">BBC News<\/a>. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/uk-57552793\">expressed optimism<\/a> that all restrictions could be lifted as early as July 19, the outlet reported.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An image shared on Facebook purportedly shows a memo from Imperial College London about a plan to permanently lock down the United Kingdom. &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2281165,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Screen-Shot-2021-06-22-at-2.49.15-PM-620x382-1.png","fifu_image_alt":"FACT CHECK: Did Imperial College London Send This Memo About An Upcoming \u2018Permanent Lockdown\u2019?","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-572263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Screen-Shot-2021-06-22-at-2.49.15-PM-620x382-1.png","fifu_image_alt":"FACT CHECK: Did Imperial College London Send This Memo About An Upcoming \u2018Permanent Lockdown\u2019?","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/572263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=572263"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/572263\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2281165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=572263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=572263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=572263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}