On Sunday night, a shooter opened fire in a Quebec City mosque and killed six people.
And to no one’s surprise, Fox News decided to make up their own version of the truth as police were still working out the details of the attack. Here’s a tweet (which has since been deleted) the conservative American news network sent out shortly after the shooting:
This wasn’t just an “alternative fact” – it was patently false. Authorities had yet to identify the suspect, and weren’t even sure whether one or two people were directly involved in the attack. Names had not yet been released.
The lone shooter turned out to be 27-year-old French-Canadian Alexandre Bissonnette, who has no ties to Morocco.
Yesterday, Kate Purchase, Director of Communications for the Prime Minister’s Office, sent an email to Fox News about the tweet. All three parts of the email were published on her Twitter account.
Earlier today I sent an email to @FoxNews about their misleading tweet yesterday. We will continue to stand up for our citizens (1/3) pic.twitter.com/sGz47PxMcb
— Kate Purchase (@katepurchase) January 31, 2017
“These tweets by Fox News dishonour the memory of the six victims and their families by spreading misinformation, playing identity politics, and perpetuating fear and division with our communities,” she wrote.
“Muslims are predominantly the greatest victims of terrorist acts around the world. To paint terrorists with a broad brush that extends to all Muslims is not just ignorant – it is irresponsible.”
And so an alternative slogan for Fox News was born: Ignorant and Irresponsible.
She also sprinkled some Canadian values into her email. “We are a nation of millions of immigrants and refugees, of hundreds of cultures, languages, and religions bound by one, unwavering, unshakable belief: we are stronger not in spite of our differences, but because of them,” she wrote.
Fox News has responded in classic tail-between-legs fashion by deleting the tweet.
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