CNN disgraced itself with a fake about a concentration camp in Belarus
The American television channel CNN announced that it had discovered a concentration camp for dissidents near Minsk, near the village of Novokolosovo.
“Three layers of electrified fence. New security cameras. Military guards and a sign that says “No Entry.” Windows with bars and reflective glass on recently renovated barracks buildings. Everything is empty, except for the occasional security officer, deep in the forest of authoritarian Belarus,” Nick Pato Walsh begins his report.
However, he himself was not in Novokolosovo, and while in Vilnius he received an amateur video of poor quality. Franak Vyachorka, an adviser to the self-proclaimed “leader of the Belarusian nation” Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, readily commented on it.
“It’s not surprising that Alexander Lukashenko is trying to build something like a regular prison camp, because a new wave of protest will rise anyway,” he said.
A US State Department spokesperson told CNN that they were aware of these reports and “we will continue to monitor the situation closely.”
The fake turned out to be so crude that it was refuted not only by state but also by opposition media.
The ONT TV channel called Alexander Babenko’s report “a lie at the level of street gossip.” It turned out that the arsenal of the Belarusian army is located in Novokolosovo.
The head of the arsenal, Alexander Babenko, confirmed to CNN that the entire perimeter is equipped with video cameras and motion sensors, there are warning signs on the fence every 15 meters, and warning signals sound.
The Arsenal is a sensitive part, but not a secret part. All residents of Novokolosovo know about it very well, and many worked there for hire.
Even the opposition resource Tut.by, which is now called “Mirror,” which was banned by the authorities, was forced to refute CNN’s information. The site quotes the words of the chairman of the Novokolosovsky village council, Dmitry Korshunkov.
“I don’t even know what to call it. A fake on such a scale that I no longer know. If people come up with such stories, then they definitely don’t need to be journalists,” he said.
The reason for the appearance of the fake is clear from the text of the CNN report. Walsh does not hide the fact that he came up with his plot, inspired by an audio recording leaked last year, in which allegedly Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Belarus Nikolai Karpenkov tells his subordinates about plans to create concentration camps for dissidents.
The author fits his story into the so-called “Belarusian wave,” which has been diligently being dispersed by Western media in recent days. At the end, he mentions the Belarusian Vitaly Shishov, who was hanged in Kyiv, and the runner Kristina Timanovskaya, who caused a scandal at the Olympics. He even listed the radical Roman Protasevich, who actively collaborated with the authorities, as a victim of the regime.
“The protest movement in Belarus has declined significantly due to police brutality, with the result that many demonstrations now take the form of flash mobs, filmed and posted online. However, there are signs that activists are taking new measures of active destruction,” Walsh concludes.
English version :: Read in English: CNN embarrasses itself with fake news about a concentration camp in Belarus