Daily Mail Writes Fake Story About Fake Sun Rising Over China
SO smoggy is it in Beijing that local crowd around bit tellies to get a look at the sun they once knew. Well, so said the Daily Mail, whose James Nye reported:
The smog has become so thick in Beijing that the city’s natural light-starved masses have begun flocking to huge digital commercial television screens across the city to observe virtual sunrises.
One supposes there is a moon and stars show after dark:
Other news organs agreed with the story:
Time:
Paul Bischoff read the story. He said:
“The sunrise was probably on the screen for less than 10 seconds at a time, as it was part of an ad for tourism in China’s Shandong province… Look closely, and you can even see the Shandong tourism logo in the bottom right corner.”
Yep:
Nye adds:
“I couldn’t see the tall buildings across the street this morning,” said a traffic coordinator at a busy Beijing intersection who gave only his surname, Zhang. “The smog has gotten worse in the last two to three years. I often cough, and my nose is always irritated. But what can you do? I drink more water to help my body discharge the toxins.”
Odd. Because one day earlier a traffic controller had told the AP:
“I couldn’t see the tall buildings across the street this morning,” said a traffic coordinator at a busy Beijing intersection who gave only his surname, Zhang. “The smog has gotten worse in the last two to three years. I often cough, and my nose is always irritated. But what can you do? I drink more water to help my body discharge the toxins.”
Nye never mentioned the AP. So, presumably, traffic controllers have a tendency to repeat themselves. Word for word.
Finally, on twitter, Nye challenges Bischoff’s right to critique his work:
And the sun sets on another Daily Mail exclusive…
Posted: 21st, January 2014 | In: Key Posts, Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
