Irans semiofficial Fars News Agency seems to have retreated from its earlier, mind-boggling story saying that an Iranian scientist had invented the worlds first time machine.Yes, you read that correctly: the worlds first time machine. Fars initially reported that the device could fit into a computer case and predict a persons marriage age, education, occupation and number of children just by their touch. (Its not clear precisely why the device is identified as a time machine when it doesnt move people through time, althoughthe Telegraphand others have translated the original Farsi this way.)
The devices alleged inventor, 27-year-old Ali Razeghi, also said it could forecast wars and epidemics with 98 percent accuracy, and that the United States had invested several billion dollars in research on a similar machine.
But by the time the story went viral on English-language media earning mentions everywhere fromthe TelegraphtoFox NewstoWired the Fars news story was offline. The link to the original Farsi story now goes toan error page. It seems it never even made it to the news agencys English service.
So much for the invention that satisfies all the needs of human society.
This is not, of course, the first time Iranian propagandists have gone a little overboard in their breathless reportage. In 2008, aphoto of a missile launchreleased by Sepah News, the media arm of the Revolutionary Guard Corps, made it into a number of U.S. papers until someone noticed that extra missiles had been Photoshopped into the picture. More recently, Irans state media gave usdoctored drones, afake stealth fighterand a lot ofunconfirmed hypeabout a monkeys trip into space.
Its too late to hush up this story, though. AsEntekhab, another Iranian news service, notes before its own interview with the alleged time-machine inventor, the story blew up on social media even as Fars deleted it.
By WashingtonPost
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