Opinion: How the far right spread politically convenient lies about the Notre Dame fire
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Washington Post Opinion: How the far right spread politically convenient lies about the Notre Dame fire
APRIL 16, 2019
Debris are seen inside Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, Tuesday, April 16, 2019. Firefighters declared success Tuesday in a more than 12-hour battle to extinguish an inferno engulfing Paris' iconic Notre Dame cathedral that claimed its spire and roof, but spared its bell towers and the purported Crown of Christ. (Christophe Petit Tesson, Pool via AP)Special To The Washington Post · Talia Lavin
As a conflagration spread through the ancient timbers of Notre Dame Cathedral’s attic on Monday, a parallel fire was spreading on social media. This one was willfully set, a series of conspiracy theories neatly slotted into preexisting cultural biases. And soon enough, willing believers were aflame with hate.
The conspiracy theorizing began almost as soon as the blaze did, right when people saw the shocking, transfixing video of the cathedral's spire toppling. While French authorities began to assert almost immediately that the fire was apparently accidental, the brief gap between the startling images' generation and their explication was enough for far-right figures to exploit with their own sinister insinuations. Their prevailing view was nearly identical and, apparently, completely false: that the fire was deliberate and most probably set by Muslims.
Conservative gadflies on social media were among the first to leap to dark conclusions about the blaze, even as it raged: Matt Walsh, a conservative blogger who identifies himself as a "theocratic fascist" in his Twitter bio, wrote , "I don't understand how a fire of this magnitude could happen accidentally," accumulating nearly 9,000 likes. Infowars, a conspiracy-oriented outlet helmed by Alex Jones, immediately publicized unverified rumors claiming the fire had been "deliberately started" and linking the blaze to "anti-Christian attacks." Katie Hopkins, a racist British provocateur, was far more explicit , claiming that "Jewish and Christian Parisians" are being "hunted out of the city by Islamists, fleeing in their thousands," and affixing the hashtag #NotreDame.
Many figures on the right took the opportunity to turn Notre Dame into a metonym for Western civilization as a whole, intimating that far more than a cathedral was in peril. Just as the fire hit social media, conspiracy theorist and brain-supplements salesman Mike Cernovich dramatically tweeted that "The West has fallen." Shortly thereafter, fast-talking far-right pundit Ben Shapiro called Notre Dame a "monument to Western civilization" and "Judeo-Christian heritage." Given the already-raging rumors about potential Muslim involvement, these tweets evoked the specter of a war between Islam and the West that is already part of numerous far-right narratives; it was also a central thread in the manifesto of Brenton Tarrant, the Christchurch, New Zealand, shooter. Richard Spencer, professional racist and coiner of the term "alt-right," openly advocated for such warfare, stating (and misspelling) his hopes that the fire would "spur the White man into action - to sieze power in his countries, in Europe, in the world," and declaring such an insurgence a "glorious purpose." And, as Buzzfeed's Jane Lytvynenko reported , other, more oblique figures managed to go even further, from provocation in the abstract to more concrete incitement. A "parody account" masquerading as Fox News fabricated a tweet from Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., that said, "They reap what they sow #NotreDame."
Omar, under relentless attack by the right - including the president - became something of a totemic figure for those on social media already predisposed to see the fire as a Muslim conspiracy. Blogger David Futrelle, an expert on the worst of the Web, gathered dozens of tweets claiming that Omar was either celebrating the fire (variously "smiling inside," "happy as a muslim terrorist," "giddy and laughing") or, somehow, had caused it. Multiple accounts questioned whether Omar was in Paris and whether her relatives had set the fire or asserted falsely that she was affiliated with a Muslim group that had set it.
While baseless, racist conspiracy-peddling is an unfortunate but constant feature of social media - the background noise to any unfolding event - more mainstream conservative media proved to be just as susceptible to a narrative of civilizational conflict. On "The News and Why It Matters," a video program and podcast on TheBlaze.com , former Fox News mainstay and current talk-radio host Glenn Beck floated the possibility of a coverup by France's government. "If this was started by Islamists, I don't think you'll find out about it, because I think it would set the entire country on fire," Beck told his co-hosts , adding that this was France's "World Trade Center moment." On Fox News, Tucker Carlson hosted far-right columnist Mark Steyn, who denounced France as "godless" and inveighed against the "post-Christian" country. As Carlson nodded along, brow furrowed, Steyn recounted a story of worshiping in the Basilica of Saint-Denis, which is now, he declared, "in a Muslim suburb," and asserted that rebuilding Notre Dame, as President Emmanuel Macron had promised to do, would be pointless.
By Tuesday morning, French authorities had declared the fire extinguished. The structure of Notre Dame is intact, although its spire, a 19th-century addition, collapsed. But the conflagration of conspiracy, a corruption of the natural human tendency to assign meaning to events, rages through our information sphere unchecked. It should not take the imprecations of journalists to restrain this dangerous flow of misinformation. It is past time that those who stoke inflammatory rhetoric, knowing its potential to catalyze racist violence, were made to stop playing with fire - before it’s too late to control the inferno.
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A billion dollars raised overnight to rebuild a church roof.
Don’t worry, he will never find out.
This was a fever dream for the far right white nationalists and "attack on civilization" conspiracists. It is not surprising at all. I would also say that these people absolutely coinicide with the Steve Bannon , Stephen Miller wing of Trump support.
This was surprising to me because White Nationalists don't tend to be Catholic or supporters of Rome. It was indicted from the start that the fire was likely accidental in origin because the maintenance work going on inside of the scaffolding. I read one paranoid claim that said the fire was the work of Islamic terrorists.
Steve Bannon is a far right Catholic. He opposes Pope Francis in part because the Pope preaches international diversity.
This element in international politics , the so called "defenders of Christian civilization" go to a very dark place.
He sounds like Antonin Scalia, who was another hyper-conservative Catholic who also opposed the Vatican Two reforms. I wonder if he is a member of the Society of St Pius X, who are outside the norm of the RCC.
Trump told France to "act quickly", during the fire...... Well, thank goodness because if he had not blessed us all with that little pearl of wisdom, I am sure the firefighters would STILL be standing there watching ND burn to the ground.
/s
Monsieur Trump suggested that the Paris fire department to use water bombers to put out the fire. Their PR department explained that doing so would collapse the walls because of the inherent force of tons of water falling 2-300' meters.
So now we have the Washington Post making a list of bloggers and crack pots from social media to support that ridiculous title. By it's own admission; "While baseless, racist conspiracy-peddling is an unfortunate but constant feature of social media" then why the story? I haven't heard of any of these claims until now and if I had heard them I would know they were false. As of this minute we know little about the cause of the fire. As far as the French government is concerned - terrorism has already been ruled out. That's how it's been broadcast on all the major news outlets, so again exactly what is the Post trying to do with this story?
Ben Shapiro called Notre Dame a "monument to Western civilization" and "Judeo-Christian heritage." Given the already-raging rumors about potential Muslim involvement, these tweets evoked the specter of a war between Islam and the West that is already part of numerous far-right narratives;
How does something this stupid get published in a major newspaper?
And for that reasonable commentary, Shapiro gets tossed in with Alex Jones & Katie Hopkins? Oh, wait now I get it...The Post is smearing people again!
Maybe because Shapiro doesnt have a clue about history or the term Judeo-Christian!
Wow. An article by a disgraced "fact checker" fired for lying... An excellent source...
BINGO!!!
And her fellow traveler pretends it didn't happen! Lol!
and how is fact checker disgraced. Oh wait, you've been reading or listening to fake news
You are soooooo easy to debunk...
There was no credible evidence of this being a pay-back for the Crusades, or of Muslims celebrating the fire, and no evidence whatsoever that Muslims started it, but notwithstanding it became an opportunity for the liberal-progressive media to make a case against the right wing. What fucking bullshit are they going to pull off next in their desperate attempts to win the hearts and minds of the American public? Do they not realize that more and more people are starting to see their game?
We have collectively gone over the brink, politicizing a fire. Really?
I don't give a shit who is responsible, and I give even less of a fuck for the religious aspect.
That is a goddamn beautiful,l building.
Now we have Easter massacre in Sri Lanka. What will the haters in the media have to say about that?
They reported the news because you wouldn't know that it happened if they didn't do that.
What do you think that they should have done instead of or should be doing in addition to reporting the news? Should the media report only from the perspective of your religious belief?
You better read the article again. If you still can't distinguish between news and opinion, the words Washington Post opinion are printed up there, clear as crystal.
What are you obtusely trying to say? Do you want to start a worldwide religious war to punish people who believe differently than you do?
Do you believe that the fire at Notre Dame was a religious terrorist act or was it an accident?
I already spelled that out, way back in Post # 4
They are reporting on the number of conspiracy theories and the crackpots that believe them. Their existence and their wackadoodle beliefs are also newsworthy.
It is truly crazy how the right wing loves a conspiracy more than the truth. If a Republican is caught doing anything wrong, from running Roy Moore or other sex offenders for office as Republicans, or men who commit fraud like Duncan Hunter among others, or to accepting a presidential candidate reality show star who lies daily to the American people, they prefer lies to the truth.
Any kind of spin to deflect all the bad, deflect all the wrong doing of the Republican party, and then embrace any lie, any outlandish conspiracy to spin against the "libs". Anything to attempt to turn the narrative of truth to a lie, in order to benefit their party.
They are so caught up in trying to hang one on the "libs", they abandon all their own principles and embrace lies.