Canada rebukes Fox News over ‘false and misleading’ mosque attacker tweet

Canada rebukes Fox News over ‘false and misleading’ mosque attacker tweet

Canada rebukes Fox News over 'false and misleading' mosque attacker tweet. On Tuesday, Kate Purchase, director of communications for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, told Twitter she'd emailed Fox over the "false and misleading" tweet, sharing screenshots of the message to the news organisation. While some early media reports mistakenly claimed the suspect was of Moroccan background and that there were two gunman, most have since corrected the record. Fox's post featured an image of Trudeau, along with a quote: "We condemn this terrorist attack on Muslims in a centre of worship and refuge." The suspect, Alexandre Bissonnette, 27, is French Canadian. Fear does not make us safer. Here's her statement in full: It has come to my attention that a Fox News tweet posted on Twitter at 12:31pm, January 30, 2017, contains false and misleading language relating to the identity of the suspect in the Quebec mosque terror attack. Sadly, this misleading information has been left to stand on the Fox News Channel’s twitter account and continued to circulate online even now. 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 within our communities. Fear does not make us safer.

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Quebec Provincial and municipal police officers are seen behind a cordoned off area after a shooting at the Quebec Islamic Cultural Centre in Quebec City.
Quebec Provincial and municipal police officers are seen behind a cordoned off area after a shooting at the Quebec Islamic Cultural Centre in Quebec City.

Fox News has been scolded by the Canadian government after it told more than 13 million Twitter followers the deadly mosque attack in Quebec Monday had been committed by a person “of Moroccan origin.”

On Tuesday, Kate Purchase, director of communications for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, told Twitter she’d emailed Fox over the “false and misleading” tweet, sharing screenshots of the message to the news organisation.

While some early media reports mistakenly claimed the suspect was of Moroccan background and that there were two gunman, most have since corrected the record. As of Tuesday evening, Fox News’ tweet is still online.

Fox’s post featured an image of Trudeau, along with a quote: “We condemn this terrorist attack on Muslims in a centre of worship and refuge.”

Image: twitter/fox news

The suspect, Alexandre Bissonnette, 27, is French Canadian. The university student has now been charged with murder and attempted murder for the massacre, which left six people dead and wounded at least 19.

A fan of French far-right leader Marine Le Pen and U.S. President Donald Trump, according to reports, Bissonnette is described as someone who shared “extreme nationalist views.”

“These tweets by Fox News dishonour the…

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