This prompted by a report in the FT that the Chinese are getting cross about allegations of misbehaviour of various sorts with regard to the coronavirus pandemic. Inter alia, the report pointed to reference 1, a website that smells a bit rabid to me, and tells me little (that I could find anyway) about who exactly they are or who pays their bills.
Evidence of fake news in circulation included the snippet that 'one third of UK citizens believe that vodka can be used as hand sanitiser'. Well, I was one of them.
I go to Wikipedia at reference 2, from which I deduce that the sort of alcohol you put in vodka is indeed the major ingredient of a lot of hand sanitizers. This was confirmed by the respectable looking reference 3.
The only catch might be that the sort of vodka we drink here in the UK was not be strong enough. Maybe we need to go to Poland or Scandinavia to get the real thing.
Which leaves me thinking that reference 1 is not reliable, at the very least sloppily written. The sort of vodka sold in Wetherspoon's may not be great as a disinfectant, but I would be surprised if it was completely ineffective.
Confused of Epsom.
Reference 1: https://euvsdisinfo.eu/eeas-special-report-update-2-22-april/.
Reference 2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_sanitizer.
Reference 3: https://www.who.int/gpsc/5may/Guide_to_Local_Production.pdf.
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