Red mercury, the non-existent elixir for Covid

Social media is awash with posts advertising the availability of ‘red mercury’, with many hawking the so-called elixir at prices as high as the moon, and as usual, with tall claims of the magical ability of red mercury to kill the corona virus.

As per rumours, red mercury was a red colour liquid found in tiny tubes in old radio sets.

Hyderabad: The Covid-19 pandemic has been when everything fake has had a good run. From fake cures to fake theories, the latest to be added to the growing list is the ability of ‘red mercury’ to treat one of Covid-19. Social media, in fact, is awash with posts advertising the availability of ‘red mercury’, with many hawking the so-called elixir at prices as high as the moon, and as usual, with tall claims of the magical ability of red mercury to kill the corona virus.

All this, when similar campaigns and adverts in earlier years too had law enforcement agencies check out what the commotion was all about, only to find that there was no such thing as ‘red mercury’. You heard that right. The BBC,  in a story broadcast in 2019 when there were similar rumours, quoted scientists and categorically stated that red mercury was a red herring. In short, a plain, simple hoax. With the current pandemic inspiring fraudsters to try out old tricks in new boxes, the red mercury theory too is back, with the City Police now asking people not to fall for such gimmicks. With some rumour mills churning out stories that red mercury was a red colour liquid found in tiny tubes in old radio sets and the cathode ray tube (CRT) television sets of yore, many are even fumbling around in local television and radio mechanic shops.

According to police officials, some gangs plan methodically to identify and target gullible persons. There are posts on social media of a mere 10 ml of the so-called wonder drug being sold for lakhs of rupees, a Task Force official said. Conmen are also sending video links to convince people about the demand and efficacy of ‘red mercury’ in the international market and to swindle money from them. KVM Prasad, ACP (Cybercrime), Hyderabad, said though there were no complaints of such incidents in the city so far, people should be alert and avoid falling prey to such scams.

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