Photo: Twitter
What a remarkably sad state of affairs we find ourselves in. One of the UK’s flagship newspapers has been the subject of a fact-check from the Metropolitan Police this morning, after The Mail published an ‘inaccurate’ story.
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The right-leaning publisher led with a story regarding pro-Palestine protests which took place in London yesterday. They focused on the Hyde Park Holocaust Memorial, which is covered up by park authorities during large-scale demonstrations.
However, The Mail have claimed that it was the Met Police who decided to place blue sheets over the stone monument, stating that local law enforcement have ‘cowed to the anti-semitic mob’ and ‘covered up the Holocaust’.
The demonstrably false claims set alarm bells ringing among the public, and social media users rushed to condemn the inflammatory content. Eventually, the Met Police were compelled to issue a statement on the matter.
A spokesperson has slammed the paper for ‘fueling community concerns’. They also take aim at the contents of the article, which later makes it clear that the park take this action for a ‘number of different events’ – contradicting the initial headline.
“This is an inaccurate headline that will only fuel community concerns.”
“The decision to cover the memorial was taken by park authorities, not the police. As the paper’s own article makes clear, it is a precaution Royal Parks have taken for a number of different events.” | Met Police
Former Labour supremo Alastair Campbell has voiced his disdain for the front page, calling it ‘vile and populist’ while predicting that this angle will only help worsen the situation:
“This is vile from The Mail. They see a problem and make it worse. It is populism at work, and sure enough, we will see the populist band-waggoners decide to leap aboard.” | Alastair Campbell
