Pope Warns Media Over 'Sin' Of Spreading Fake News Smearing Politicians

[bunklocoempire]

Pope warns media over 'sin' of spreading fake news, smearing politicians

https://web.archive.org/web/20161207150552/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-pope-media-idUSKBN13W1TU

By Philip Pullella | VATICAN CITY

Media that focus on scandals and spread fake news to smear politicians risk becoming like people who have a morbid fascination with excrement, Pope Francis said in an interview published on Wednesday.

Francis told the Belgian Catholic weekly "Tertio" that spreading disinformation was "probably the greatest damage that the media can do" and using communications for this rather than to educate the public amounted to a sin.

Using precise psychological terms, he said scandal-mongering media risked falling prey to coprophilia, or arousal from excrement, and consumers of these media risked coprophagia, or eating excrement.

The Argentine-born pontiff excused himself for using such terms in order to get his point across while answering a question about the correct use of the media.

"I think the media have to be very clear, very transparent, and not fall into - no offence intended - the sickness of coprophilia, that is, always wanting to cover scandals, covering nasty things, even if they are true," he said.

"And since people have a tendency towards the sickness of coprophagia, a lot of damage can be done."

That section of the interview, all of which was distributed to reporters in an Italian translation of the interview in the pope's native Spanish, contained some of the most blunt language the pontiff has ever used about the media.

He also spoke of the danger of using the media to slander political rivals.

"The means of communication have their own temptations, they can be tempted by slander, and therefore used to slander people, to smear them, this above all in the world of politics," he said. "They can be used as means of defamation..."

"No-one has a right to do this. It is a sin and it is hurtful," he said.

He described disinformation as the greatest harm the media can do because "it directs opinion in only one direction and omits the other part of the truth," he said.

The pope's comments on disinformation followed widespread debate in the United States over whether fake news on the internet might have swayed voters toward Republican candidate Donald Trump.

(Reporting by Philip Pullella; Editing by Tom Heneghan)



http://i.imgur.com/gTZZQDim.jpg

[euphemia]

Fake news is basically lying, so it is a sin, for sure.

[UWDude]

Like all that fake news that was coming out about Catholic Priests diddling altar boys and the Catholic Church covering it up and denying it for a decade.

Like that "fake news"?

LoL

Pedophile rings gonna pedo and lie, and tell you the truth is a sin.

[lilymc]

Not surprising at all, sadly.

Maybe all the focus on pedophilia recently is what sparked this. After all, the Catholic church would NEVER be involved with something as evil as pedophilia, now would they? :rolleyes:

[otherone]

How does da Pope know so much about coprophilia?

[UWDude]

How does da Pope know so much about coprophilia?

He likes the smell of little boy anus.

[otherone]

He likes the smell of little boy anus.

you are a subtle soul, aintcha?

[pcosmar]

Pope talking shit ( coprophilia)

or just misdirection.

[donnay]

Fake news is basically lying, so it is a sin, for sure.

Yeah but his fake news isn't what we are calling fake news, I believe.

[bunklocoempire]

The Ron Paul Institute For Peace And Prosperity is "fake news".


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fheeAgATQ5o

Aggression pope is approved, Dr. Paul is not.

[donnay]

The Ron Paul Institute is "fake news".

Aggression pope is approved, Dr. Paul is not.

Yeah like he doesn't like us building a wall but there is a 12 ft. wall around the Vatican and no Syrian refuges yet.

The Pope is do as I say not as I do.

[bunklocoempire]

Yeah like he doesn't like us building a wall but there is a 12 ft. wall around the Vatican and no Syrian refuges yet.

The Pope is do as I say not as I do.

Excellent observation.

[Working Poor]

If the news is fake how come Hillary hasn't filed some kind of lawsuit?

[bunklocoempire]

If the news is fake how come Hillary hasn't filed some kind of lawsuit?

It's time for heeling the nation.

[Working Poor]

It's time for heeling the nation.
I would rather her and Bill file a lawsuit and prove they aren't what "fake news" is calling them.

[oyarde]

Yeah like he doesn't like us building a wall but there is a 12 ft. wall around the Vatican and no Syrian refuges yet.

The Pope is do as I say not as I do.

And they can coin money .

[Ender]

Yeah like he doesn't like us building a wall but there is a 12 ft. wall around the Vatican and no Syrian refuges yet.

The Pope is do as I say not as I do.

Did Pope Francis build the wall?

No- they were built centuries ago. And, the Vatican is easily accessible.

https://cruxnow.com/church/2016/02/19/no-internet-the-vatican-is-not-a-walled-city/

I like this Pope- I believe he means well and wants to help others. Coming from a Jesuit background and a Vow of Poverty, I can understand that his POV doesn't seem supportive of capitalism- but then where does any real capitalism actually exist in today's world? Certainly not in the good ol' US of A.

[dannno]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bctivboqvKo

[PatriotOne]

he said scandal-mongering media risked falling prey to coprophilia, or arousal from excrement, and consumers of these media risked coprophagia, or eating excrement.


Is he being literal? Because that has to be the stupidest thing I think I have EVER heard...and I have read a lot of preteen comments on YouTube over the years.

[PatriotOne]

Dayum.....Pizzagate really have got these people worried. Even 9/11 false flag exposure didn't have this much push back.

[euphemia]

Yeah but his fake news isn't what we are calling fake news, I believe.

Someone is sinning, for sure.

[CPUd]

Donald Trump supporters get their news from a strange media universe – and it's frequently fact-free

Concern over the presence of fake news websites has grown during the election



https://i.imgur.com/xS637IN.png
One of the many fake stories to be shared by millions claimed Pope Francis was backing Mr Trump WTOE5 News

On a street in Grundy, Virginia, a declining mining community that would vote 78 per cent in favour of Donald Trump, a man had an update on a trending news story.

A report about two police officers being shot in Des Moines, Iowa, was false, said the man. It had been invented, apparently to try and benefit one or other political competing in the area. He had read about it being false on the internet. (Later, it was announced the police had found and charged a suspect with the shootings.)

One of the defining features of the 2016 US presidential election was the parallel words from which opposing supporters obtained their information. The continuing fragmentation of the media and the growth of non-mainstream sources has meant that voters have never had so many options when it came to seeking out information.

https://i.imgur.com/3sBILAA.jpg

Yet, another distinctive feature was the number of stories that turned out to the utterly false. This was particularly true - though not exclusively so - for supporters of Mr Trump, who were frequently drawn to news site such Breitbart, InfoWars and Freedom Daily.

“Because of social media you have access to a larger variety of information in the past, Kathleen Stansberry an assistant professor of public relations and social media at Cleveland State University, told The Independent.

Yet she said while there were many of articles published online that were well-researched and accurate, there were usually fewer “gate-keepers” than in traditional media with its fact-checking, accuracy and fairness.

795275085573718016
https://twitter.com/RealAlexJones/status/795275085573718016

“The hoaxes that do exist are not limited to one partisan view, or even to politics,” he wrote in a public post. “Overall, this makes it extremely unlikely hoaxes changed the outcome of this election in one direction or the other.”

Earlier this year, an investigation by BuzzFeed found that that of the Facebook posts it examined from three major right-wing websites, 38 per cent were either false or a mixture of truth and falsehood. It said readers were often likely to share such false stories and were therefore profitable for Facebook to post.

Mr Zuckerberg said more than 99 per cent of news shared on Facebook was verifiable, but acknowledged more could be done to flag fake stories which had been debunked.

“We don’t want any hoaxes on Facebook. Our goal is to show people the content they will find most meaningful, and people want accurate news,” he wrote.

“We have already launched work enabling our community to flag hoaxes and fake news, and there is more we can do here. We have made progress, and we will continue to work on this to improve further.”

Steve Bannon, the former head of Breitbart who took a leave of absence to lead Mr Trump’s campaign, is now set to take up a position within the new administration as political counsellor. His appointment has delighted many on the alt-right and white extremists.

Richard Spencer, who heads the National Policy Institute, a white supremacist “think tank” based in Arlington, Virginia, welcomed Mr Bannon’s move into the White House.

He said on Twitter: “Bannon is not a chief of staff, which requires a “golden retriever” personality. He’ll be freed up to chart Trump’s macro-trajectory.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/donald-trump-breitbart-infowars-alex-jones-facebook-twitter-fake-news-fact-free-a7417331.html

[Sola_Fide]

What an idiot.

[donnay]

Did Pope Francis build the wall?

I guess if Reagan were still around he could plea, "Mr. Pope tear down this wall." <S>


No- they were built centuries ago. And, the Vatican is easily accessible.

How many refugees reside at the Vatican? How many homeless Italian earthquake victims are living at the Vatican?


I like this Pope- I believe he means well and wants to help others. Coming from a Jesuit background and a Vow of Poverty, I can understand that his POV doesn't seem supportive of capitalism- but then where does any real capitalism actually exist in today's world? Certainly not in the good ol' US of A.

One of the richest cities in the world, didn't make their money from capitalism--that much we agree.

These people have to learn to practice what they preach, or no one should take them seriously.

[Ender]

I guess if Reagan were still around he could plea, "Mr. Pope tear down this wall." <S>



How many refugees reside at the Vatican? How many homeless Italian earthquake victims are living at the Vatican?



One of the richest cities in the world, didn't make their money from capitalism--that much we agree.

These people have to learn to practice what they preach, or no one should take them seriously.

Maybe we ought to clean up our own mess before we start calling others out.

[donnay]

Maybe we ought to clean up our own mess before we start calling others out.

Yes, that is what I keep thinking someone should tell the Pope.

[ThePaleoLibertarian]

Degenerate Marxist scum. The Catholic Church is subservient to the Cathedral.

[lilymc]

No, Francis. As usual, you are wrong and always in agreement with the corrupt establishment and society, instead of God.



Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.

Ephesians 5:11


The only excrement lovers I see are those who wish to cover up the truth and keep evil hidden, instead of seeking the truth and shining the light in the darkness.

:mad:

[asurfaholic]

/thread. Thanks lilymc