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https://www.samueleckert.net/isolat-truth-fund/

This site claims to offer 1000000 € for a scientific demonstration of the existance of Corona virus.

An excerpt from the site : "The money from the PayPal Isolat Fund (total 11,250 EUR) will be repaid to the donors in the coming weeks. The currently advertised EUR 1 million will be borne entirely by the Samuel Eckert team. Thank you for your commitment!"

Matko
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    See https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/50205/has-sars-cov-2-been-purified-in-a-lab-if-not-does-this-imply-that-the-pcr-test As for your new link. It seems they can't even afford a website that doesn't take forever to load... – Fizz Apr 14 '21 at 10:07
  • It basically says that it's essentially irrelevant whether the virus is purified. Not when you can get a million euros it's isn't i guess. – Matko Apr 14 '21 at 10:12
  • Why wouldn't that extra purification step (which seems synonymous to isolation anyway by pure basics English semantics) be taken just for the prize, even if it is supposedly irrelevant otherwise. – Matko Apr 14 '21 at 10:15
  • I don't hence the equestion if this is legit. – Matko Apr 14 '21 at 10:23
  • So when they gather a million e someone might take the time to isolate the virus? – Matko Apr 14 '21 at 10:25
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    I don't think the mere existence of a website with an unclear text passes the bar for [notability](https://skeptics.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/2506/what-is-a-notable-claim) here. – Fizz Apr 14 '21 at 10:25
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    This is some random non-notable website, I strongly doubt they would pay a million Euros for any proof. What makes you think that there is any possible evidence that would convince them if they're not convinced by the mountains of science that has already been done on SARS-CoV2? – Mad Scientist Apr 14 '21 at 10:26
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    @Matko The existence of the SARS-CoV2 virus and the fact that it causes COVID-19 has been proven beyond any kind of reasonable doubt. There is nothing more to do, the virus has been "isolated" as far as it is useful to perform scientific studies, but this will never be enough for denialists like this, they just continue to define "isolation" in increasingly narrow and specific ways that you can never meet. – Mad Scientist Apr 14 '21 at 10:29
  • There's some info about Eckert here FWTW https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-56675874 If would not be surprised if PayPal forced him to refund if he collected that money from children... – Fizz Apr 14 '21 at 10:32
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    @MadScientist Samuel Eckert is [somewhat notable](https://www.belltower.news/samuel-eckert-die-faktenresistenz-des-eckert-empires-106297/) in germany (as a conspiracy theorist). But this question doesn't seem a good fit here. What is really being asked? If Samuel Eckert says that he is offering a 1m reward? His website is already proof of that. If he is actually going to pay that? I mean, he's not, but how would we provide evidence of that? – tim Apr 14 '21 at 10:35
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    Offering money on your website, and _actually paying that money_ are very different things. Nobody is going to do any work to claim this prize, because they don't believe it will actually be paid. It's like [this website](https://www.remakethelastjedi.com/) at which you can "pledge" random amounts of money to a non-existent remake of a film that some people didn't like. – IMSoP Apr 14 '21 at 11:17
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    There is no evidence that anyone regards this claim as being (to the least degree) _plausible_. – Nigel J Apr 14 '21 at 12:43

1 Answers1

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This is a trick developed by Stefan Lanka, who is a close associate of Samuel Eckert. He has already created an identical reward for isolation of the measles virus. Under German law, they do not actually have to pay the reward.

The vaccination opponent was right, for formal reasons. The sponsor wanted a single piece of work with the evidence, but the plaintiff had delivered several publications that only provided evidence in total. Hence: "The appeal is essentially granted."

They demand only a single experiment to prove everything, but obviously, even if you show them the entire structure of the virus, they would want further proof that it's the same virus that makes people sick. Science relies on collaboration and independent verification and a single experiment would never suffice as proof that the virus is the same one circulating in the general population. Therefore, they will never have to pay.

Avery
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  • Is that so much to ask? A full structure of the virus that causes the illness.. – Matko Apr 14 '21 at 11:44
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    @Matko It's not too much too ask, and it has been isolated, of course. https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-isolated-idUSKBN28E2SB – Modus Tollens Apr 14 '21 at 12:19
  • But it relies on some crazy pseudo mental gymnastics that renders purified and isolated to be non synonymous.. – Matko Apr 14 '21 at 12:32
  • You can't just take isolated to mean whatever.. – Matko Apr 14 '21 at 12:33
  • And I think the word is quite precise and unambiguous in and of itself.. – Matko Apr 14 '21 at 12:33
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    @Matko I don't understand what you are trying to say. – Modus Tollens Apr 14 '21 at 13:45
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    I think it takes a far greater work of gymnastics to believe that every single scientist, gov't worker and reporter in the world is lying to you, and only this one guy and his unachievable award is the truth... – Avery Apr 14 '21 at 14:11
  • What truth. I'm not saying there isn't a Sars cov 2. I'm saying I haven't seen anything convincing like an isolated sample under a micrograph. I'm saying I don't believe in something not that I believe in something else. I am skeptical about it is the best way to say it, especially when there is so much conflict of interest and ambiguous terms that should be very clear and precise – Matko Apr 14 '21 at 15:09
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    @Matko Googling "Sars-CoV-2 isolated" should provide you with enough research material. – Modus Tollens Apr 14 '21 at 15:24
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    I don't think so. Because isolated apparently doest also mean purified. – Matko Apr 14 '21 at 18:58
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    @Matko what does isolated mean to you? What is the experiment you would like the scientists to do, to prove to you that SARS-CoV-2 exists? – user253751 Apr 20 '21 at 13:56