In the fall of 2021, an image started to circulate on social media that supposedly showed a panel from a comic strip published in 1957, in which a hooded hero encouraged mask use to protect against the “China virus”:
In the posts which are shared online, the Phantom is seen saying “Tie as I do. This will protect you from the “China Virus” in the Valley .
The unedited version shows the main character is actually telling a person to cover his mouth to be protected against “the ‘sleep death’ in the Valley”.
The image shows an altered version of a panel from the comic strip “THE PHANTOM” that was published in August 1957. In the original version, The Phantom is encouraging people to wear a mask to protect themselves against “sleep death,” a mysterious illness plaguing people in “The Valley Of No Return”.
“The Phantom” was a serial comic strip that was first published in 1936. The displayed panel comes from a story involving a mysterious illness that put people to sleep in the valley. While this illness is not COVID-19 or “The China Virus,” The Phantom truly did encourage people to wear masks in order to protect themselves from illness.
The claim that The Phantom had used the term “China virus” in a 1957 comic is part of a spate of rumors that pushed the idea that the Covid-19 virus was planned and predicted . On the other hand the comic strip truly dealt with a mysterious illness that could only be prevented by wearing musk .
Moreover , Covid-19 virus is the not the first virus in the history of human evolution that encouraged to use of musk from the virus there were numerous cases in the past which followed the same precautions .
