Woltron thinks outside the box

Fake news & propaganda? The matter of the bloodbath

A statement by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, according to which a "bloodbath" would follow an election defeat, was taken out of context.

(Bild: APA/AFP/Andrew Caballero-Reynolds)

Even domestic media sometimes spread fake news, as a recent example shows. The truth is a shy game. And people's trust is quickly lost. Columnist Klaus Woltron on the danger when statements taken out of context spread like wildfire on the internet.

The truth is a shy game. Hunting it down and capturing it in the undergrowth of thousands and thousands of contradictory pieces of information is an exciting undertaking. Recently, there was a particularly characteristic occasion to go hunting for the background to a global spectacle and, as it later turned out, pharisaically feigned consternation.