As Switzerland takes drastic measures to reduce its gas use this winter – including fines and up to three years in prison for citizens who violate new regulations, a viral poster circulating on Swiss social media telling citizens to rat out neighbors heating their homes above 19C (66.2F) has raised eyebrows.
“Does the neighbor heat the apartment to over 19 degrees? Please inform us,” reads the poster currently circulating on messaging services such as Signal and Telegram, according to Swiss media.
Except, it’s fake.
According to Energy Department official, Simone Hug, the federal government has nothing to do with the poster.
“There are no such federal posters, nor do we call for people to be exposed,” said Hug, who added that the government is investigating who created the hoax.
Outlet ’20 Minuten’ says it’s easy to conduct a google reverse image of the alleged poster, where it can be found on ‘freepik,’ which hosts over 25 million images, and lists the template as “blank billboard mockup.”
That said, the fact that so many people believed that the post was real comes as no surprise given the government’s extreme measures to save energy – including the prohibition on home temperatures above 66.2F, as well as a maximum hot water temperature of 60 degrees, and to turn off saunas and swimming pools. ‘Willful’ violators risk three years in prison, while negligent violators face a daily penalty between 30 francs (US$31) and 3,000 francs (US$3130) and up to 180 days in prison.
In short: if you accidentally set your thermostat incorrectly, you will be better off than your neighbor who deliberately heated his pool to 25 degrees. The penalty should be even heavier for a company that deliberately exceeds gas consumption limits. The quota order is also subject to penal provisions. -Blick
What’s more, according to Economic Minister Guy Parmelin, there may be spot checks to ensure compliance.
And while the poster above may be fake, a DEF spokesperson told Blick that “if the infringement was reported and checked and could then be proven,” they may take action against violators.
Precisely, checks are not excluded, especially if one is denounced by a disgruntled neighbor or a neighborhood vigilante who is a little too zealous. In these cases, whoever heats up to 20 degrees instead of 19 can expect a fine. -Blick
“If a complaint is filed in this direction, the police must act,” added the director of the Swiss police.
So the issue here is not the Swiss government taking draconian measures; the issue is a fake poster. If the Swiss government wasn’t taking these drastic measures, this poster would be meaningless. Nobody would think twice about its authenticity. The Swiss government has made the poster believable
Hmm I remember a country back in the 30s and 40s that had its people behave in the same way that country ended up murdering millions of people.
If these communist Democrat pigs in America who overindulge in everything on our tax dollars wants us to live like we’re in the Dark Ages of Sweden too ,that’s fine with me we can start killing all the rats of the Dark Ages right now cuz rats are diseased need to be exterminated, they carry deadly diseases, like the Black Plague , & communism , anyone who is falsely targeted because of who they support in an election will be the next thing and the Rats will start to enforce, let’s watch the rats dying off as they’re poisoned, since this country and other countries are so overrun with Muslims we ought to just go back to carrying swords and slicing heads off when somebody doesn’t allow you to be left alone, will be coming next it seems the only way to end their Democrat communist satanic New World Order agenda of demonic control & enslavement of humanity.
If they were smart they’d eliminate the econazis who did this to them. Global warming is a wealth redistribution scam. We have an endless supply of abundant clean energy under our feet and these worthless pieces of human garbage would rather see the citizens freeze to death. They’re threatening your live and the lives of your children. WTF are you waiting for?
19 degrees means 19 Celsius, 66.2 Fahrenheit. Similarly, 25 degrees means 77 Fahrenheit.