https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...-story-of-mob-setting-fire-to-dortmund-church
German police quash Breitbart story of mob setting fire to Dortmund church
Countrys politicians warn against fake news after Breitbart website said group chanting Allahu Akbar vandalised church on New Years Eve
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 Years Eve.
After the report by the US site was widely shared on social media, the citys 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 Years Eve had been distorted by Breitbart to produce fake news, hate and propaganda.
Tens of thousands clicked and shared the Breitbart.com story with the headline Revealed: 1,000-man mob attack police, set Germanys oldest church alight on New Years Eve.
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.
The local newspaper said Breitbart had combined and exaggerated unconnected incidents to create a picture of chaos and of foreigners promoting terrorism.
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 Germanys oldest.
Dortmund police on Thursday said its officers had handled 185 missions that night, sharply down from 421 the previous year. The forces leader judged the night as rather average to quiet, in part thanks to a large police presence.
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.
It said the article may be a foretaste of what is to come before parliamentary elections expected in September as some websites spread misinformation and distortion in order to diminish trust in established institutions.
Breitbart has declined to comment.