Breitbart just makes up news about 'a thousand Muslims setting fire to a German church on NYE' - Polidicks

[URL]https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/07/german-police-quash-breitbart-story-of-mob-setting-fire-to-dortmund-church[/URL] [QUOTE]German media and politicians have warned against an election-year spike in fake news after the rightwing website Breitbart claimed a mob chanting “Allahu Akbar” had set fire to a church in the city of Dortmund on New Year’s Eve. After the report by the US site was widely shared on social media, the city’s police clarified that no “extraordinary or spectacular” incidents had marred the festivities. The local newspaper, Ruhr Nachrichten, said elements of its online reporting on New Year’s Eve had been distorted by Breitbart to produce “fake news, hate and propaganda”. The justice minister of Hesse state, Eva Kühne-Hörmann, said that “the danger is that these stories spread with incredible speed and take on lives of their own”. The controversy highlights a deepening divide between backers of German chancellor Angela Merkel’s liberal stance toward refugees and a rightwing movement that opposes immigration, fears Islam and distrusts the government and media. [B]Tens of thousands clicked and shared the Breitbart.com story with the headline “Revealed: 1,000-man mob attack police, set Germany’s oldest church alight on New Year’s Eve”.[/B] [B]It said the men had “chanted Allahu Akbar (God is greatest), launched fireworks at police and set fire to a historic church”, while also massing “around the flag of al-Qaida and Islamic State collaborators the Free Syrian Army.”[/B] [B]The local newspaper said Breitbart had combined and exaggerated unconnected incidents to create a picture of chaos and of foreigners promoting terrorism.[/B] [B]Stray fireworks did start a small blaze, but only on netting covering scaffolding on the church and it was put out after about 12 minutes, the paper reported. The roof was not on fire and the church is not Germany’s oldest.[/B][/QUOTE] Yeah but fake news doesn't have an effect on politics right.

So blatant lying with the aim of spreading Islamophobia. Classy.

If that kinda shit isn't illegal, it should be. Misinformation is one thing, but blatantly making shit up to spread hate should be punishable.

[QUOTE=Spetsnaz95;51638113]If that kinda shit isn't illegal, it should be. Misinformation is one thing, but blatantly making shit up to spread hate should be punishable.[/QUOTE] Fox news successfully argued in court they have a right to outright lie awhile ago, so much for that.

Where's the Breitbart article? The Guardian doesn't even link it.

[QUOTE=sgman91;51638272]Where's the Breitbart article? The Guardian doesn't even link it.[/QUOTE] [URL]http://www.breitbart.com/london/2017/01/03/dortmund-mob-attack-police-church-alight/[/URL] Fuck ninja'd. Don't read the comments for the love of Jove.

[QUOTE=Trebgarta;51638287][URL]http://www.breitbart.com/london/2017/01/03/dortmund-mob-attack-police-church-alight/[/URL] They do the right thing. Dont click this link without an adblocker.[/QUOTE] I seem to not be understanding here. The Breitbart article links German papers as sources for their statements. I ran the cited articles through Google translate and, as far as I can tell, it says what they say it says.

[QUOTE=sgman91;51638301]I seem to not be understanding here. The Breitbart article links Germany papers as sources for their statements. I ran the cited articles through Google translate and, as far as I can tell, it says what they say it says.[/QUOTE] Usually journalism requires actually verifying something happened and not "oh these guys said it happened so it must be true".

[QUOTE=Mattk50;51638270]Fox news successfully argued in court they have a right to outright lie awhile ago, so much for that.[/QUOTE] I think they only got away with that because all of their paperwork classifies them as an entertainment channel and not a news channel, but I could be mistaken. If true, I'm not sure if Breitbart could follow that same loophole.

[QUOTE=RainbowStalin;51638306]Usually journalism requires actually verifying something happened and not "oh these guys said it happened so it must be true".[/QUOTE] Are you serious? Most articles cite other articles. Very rarely does every single site/newspaper talk directly to the primary sources. I'm just not seeing the whole "fake news" line. Is it sensationalised? Yes. Did they make up fake news stories? No.

[QUOTE=sgman91;51638320]Are you serious? Most articles cite other articles. Very rarely does every single site/newspaper talk directly to the primary sources.[/QUOTE] Even if it's rare, they should. It's literally in their job description, they're journalists. Just because other 'news' sites don't research their stories doesn't mean Breitbart or anyone should get a free pass. Especially one such as this where a political agenda is clear.

[QUOTE=sgman91;51638320]Are you serious? Most articles cite other articles. Very rarely does every single site/newspaper talk directly to the primary sources.[/QUOTE] The big difference between them and real journalism outlets is that real journalists are pretty quick to rescind and apologize generally when posting something based on shakey sources. It's been a few days and Breitbart haven't though, they still might. It'd be a start for their trash reputation.

[QUOTE=sgman91;51638301]I seem to not be understanding here. The Breitbart article links German papers as sources for their statements. I ran the cited articles through Google translate and, as far as I can tell, it says what they say it says.[/QUOTE] Clearly you didn't read any of the articles involved [quote]The local newspaper, Ruhr Nachrichten, said elements of its online reporting on New Year’s Eve had been distorted by Breitbart to produce “fake news, hate and propaganda”. The local newspaper said Breitbart had combined and exaggerated unconnected incidents to create a picture of chaos and of foreigners promoting terrorism. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung daily said Breitbart had used exaggerations and factual errors to create “an image of chaotic civil war-like conditions in Germany, caused by Islamist aggressors”[/quote]

[QUOTE=1239the;51638294][URL]http://www.breitbart.com/london/2017/01/03/dortmund-mob-attack-police-church-alight/[/URL] Fuck ninja'd. Don't read the comments for the love of Jove.[/QUOTE] I can't tell what's uglier the comments or the website design

How nice for us all that the CEO of this racist propaganda rag is Trump's chief strategist.

[QUOTE=sgman91;51638301]I ran the cited articles through Google translate and, as far as I can tell, it says what they say it says.[/QUOTE] I don't know how I missed this little gem in your post. [URL="https://translate.google.ca/?hl=en&tab=TT#en/de/Local%20grandma%20bakes%20cookies%20for%20the%20youth%2C%20reports%20say%20that%20they%20are%20to%20die%20for."]Bad translation example.[/URL] Click on this link. Click the "swap translation" arrow twice. Now tell me if you think a computer translating service is reliable.

[QUOTE=sgman91;51638320]Are you serious? Most articles cite other articles. Very rarely does every single site/newspaper talk directly to the primary sources. I'm just not seeing the whole "fake news" line. Is it sensationalised? Yes. Did they make up fake news stories? No.[/QUOTE] Okay, so first you don't do the two minutes of Googling it takes to find the article. Then you leap to their defense. Let's break this down. Firstly, the fucking headline: [QUOTE]Revealed: 1,000-Man Mob Attack Police, Set Germany’s Oldest Church Alight on New Year’s Eve[/QUOTE] A 1,000-man mob did not attack police, the church 'set alight' is not the oldest in Germany, and the minor fire was entirely the result of an accident with fireworks with literally nothing to suggest that it was intentional. The website they sourced actually had to [URL="https://www.thelocal.de/20170105/german-media-blasts-misleading-breitbart-reports-of-violence-on-new-years"]write a statement[/URL] calling out Breitbart for spinning the fuck out of their report. [QUOTE]Already by 7 pm a man was hospitalised with first-degree burns to his face and hands after fireworks were hurled at a group of homeless people outside the city’s main train station. [/QUOTE] The source states that a single firework was launched at a homeless group, with no connection at all to 'the mob'. [QUOTE]At midnight, the situation threatened to escalate. A livewire published by the Ruhr Nachrichten reported that a crowd of “at least 1,000 young men” began throwing fireworks into crowds of visitors, which also included families with children. Asked by officers to stop, the mob turned to pelt fireworks at police instead.[/QUOTE] [URL="https://www.thelocal.de/20170105/german-media-blasts-misleading-breitbart-reports-of-violence-on-new-years"]A [B]few individuals[/B] launched a few fireworks at police, and were taken into custody.[/URL] Because occasionally in large groups of people, a few people will act like dumbasses. But apparently all those Muslims are exempt and literally anything a Muslim does is reflective on their entire culture: [QUOTE]The original report by the local news site from that night describes how some individuals did start launching fireworks from within the crowd towards police, who told them to stop but were ignored. Broadcaster WDR reported that officers then issued orders for some people to leave and took some into custody.[/QUOTE] [QUOTE]Also reported by the Ruhr Nachrichten was that “a group of Syrians sang in celebration of the ceasefire in Syria.” However, a video posted to Twitter by one of the newspaper’s reporters, paired with the caption “Syrians celebrate the truce in their country”, shows a group of men chanting ‘Allahu Akhbar’ around the flag of al-Qaeda and Islamic State collaborators, the ‘Free Syrian Army’.[/QUOTE] [URL="https://www.thelocal.de/20170105/german-media-blasts-misleading-breitbart-reports-of-violence-on-new-years"]I like how they have to actually disagree outright with their source for this Olympic Gold winning stretch.[/URL] [QUOTE]Breitbart also wrote that a group of Syrians gathered at the square to celebrate the ceasefire in their home country, but claimed that a video posted by a Ruhr Nachrichten journalist showed them holding up a flag of al-Qaeda and Isis collaborators. In fact, the video shows a man holding a flag widely flown by those opposing the current government.[/QUOTE] Next time do your own fucking research.

They need to be severely punished. We need a crackdown on this fake news bullshit and the people behind it in general though.

[QUOTE=Govna;51638436]They need to be severely punished. We need a crackdown on this fake news bullshit and the people behind it in general though.[/QUOTE] Good luck punishing this shit when the fucking president has people from Breitbart as part of his administration.

fake news getting terrible year after year. it must be stop

I can't imagine being stupid enough to think Breitbart is an even remotely credible source of information.

[QUOTE=Helix Snake;51638442]Good luck punishing this shit when the fucking president has people from Breitbart as part of his administration.[/QUOTE] It's going to have to come from respectable news organizations and the people who understand what a serious issue this is. I don't think it's fair to say that the entire government aligns itself with Trump just because of Steve Bannon, but the greater issue is just their typical unwillingness to do what needs to be done-- in spite of having the power to do so. Although if they keep pissing off the intelligence community, who knows where it'll go. Social media is also going to be an important component for opposition. [url=http://mediashift.org/2016/12/fight-fake-news-misinformation-research-helps-point-way/]Mediashift.org ran a good article about this subject last week[/url]. It's not impossible to fight back against it.

[QUOTE=pramadito;51638466]fake news getting terrible year after year. it must be stop[/QUOTE] The return of yellow journalism?

[QUOTE=markfu;51638631]The return of yellow journalism?[/QUOTE] I don't think it really ever left tbh

[QUOTE=Helix Snake;51638442]Good luck punishing this shit when the fucking president has people from Breitbart as part of his administration.[/QUOTE] [quote=Donald Trump in a CBS interview]Well, in England they have a system where you can actually sue if someone says something wrong. Our press is allowed to say whatever they want and get away with it. And I think we should go to a system where if they do something wrong, I’m a big believer tremendous believer of the freedom of the press, nobody believes it stronger than me, but if they make terrible, terrible mistakes and those mistakes are made on purpose to injure people, I’m not just talking about me-I’m talking anybody else-then yes, i think you should have the ability to sue them.[/quote] Though his campaign hasn't been much for solidity when it comes to what he plans for his presidency, so I'd take it with a mountain of salt. This was back when he was spouting off about poll rigging and, in fact, the whole first part of the interview is him complaining about it.

[QUOTE=1239the;51638402]Okay, so first you don't do the two minutes of Googling it takes to find the article. Then you leap to their defense. Let's break this down. Firstly, the fucking headline: A 1,000-man mob did not attack police, the church 'set alight' is not the oldest in Germany, and the minor fire was entirely the result of an accident with fireworks with literally nothing to suggest that it was intentional. The website they sourced actually had to [URL="https://www.thelocal.de/20170105/german-media-blasts-misleading-breitbart-reports-of-violence-on-new-years"]write a statement[/URL] calling out Breitbart for spinning the fuck out of their report. The source states that a single firework was launched at a homeless group, with no connection at all to 'the mob'. [URL="https://www.thelocal.de/20170105/german-media-blasts-misleading-breitbart-reports-of-violence-on-new-years"]A [B]few individuals[/B] launched a few fireworks at police, and were taken into custody.[/URL] Because occasionally in large groups of people, a few people will act like dumbasses. But apparently all those Muslims are exempt and literally anything a Muslim does is reflective on their entire culture: [URL="https://www.thelocal.de/20170105/german-media-blasts-misleading-breitbart-reports-of-violence-on-new-years"]I like how they have to actually disagree outright with their source for this Olympic Gold winning stretch.[/URL] Next time do your own fucking research.[/QUOTE] The hostility isn't appreciated, but you're right. I didn't look close enough into the report. Know that I don't have any good feelings towards Breitbart. They've become the propaganda machine for Trump, a man I find despicable.

[QUOTE=sgman91;51639170]The hostility isn't appreciated, but you're right. I didn't look close enough into the report.[/QUOTE] In hindsight I jumped on you without much reason, I apologise.

[QUOTE=Spetsnaz95;51638113]If that kinda shit isn't illegal, it should be. Misinformation is one thing, but blatantly making shit up to spread hate should be punishable.[/QUOTE] I'm pretty sure it's illegal [I]here[/I]. Not in the US though, which is why English-language news about Germany are so heavily distorted if you average them out. They'd most likely be forced to print a huge correction if they were a German paper or website.

Breitbart and its readership are filth; degenerates, an example of the cancer plaguing the United States. The president of your country hired the CEO of this neo-nazi publication to run his campaign, and he was elected anyway. Fucking incredible.

[QUOTE=Trebgarta;51638287][url]http://www.breitbart.com/london/2017/01/03/dortmund-mob-attack-police-church-alight/[/url] They do the right thing. Dont click this link without an adblocker.[/QUOTE] Here's an archive link that doesn't give them revenue: [url]http://archive.is/Pkdfn[/url] Clicking on links will most likely go back to the real site though, so please refrain from that if you use an adblocker and aren't sure it's an external one.