Fox News Apologizes for Inaccurately Identifying Quebec Mosque Shooter as a man of Moroccan Origin

– blogged by @MsJennyb

Trump’s controversial #MuslimBan has caused tensions across the world. Supporters of  Trump have taken the law into their own hands and begun terrorizing those who follow the religion of Islam. The most recent incident occurred in Canada on Sunday. Unfortunaurely,  there has been some confusion regarding the suspect.

 

27-year-old #AlexandreBissonnette was revealed as the shooter in Sunday’s Quebec City massacre that killed 6 people. He was arrested and charged. Initially, reports from Fox News falsely identified Bissonnette as a man of Moroccan origin. However, the news organization quickly rescinded their report, after the Canadian prime minister urged Fox News to “either retract or update” the “false and misleading” statement, explaining that the suspect was in fact a French Canadian.
“These tweets by Fox News dishonor the memory of the six victims and their family by spreading misinformation, playing identity politics, and perpetuating fear and division within our communities,” the prime minister’s director of communications, Kate Purchase said in a statement. “We need to remain focused on keeping our communities safe and united instead of trying to build walls and scapegoat communities,” Purchase added. “Muslims are predominately the greatest victims of terrorist attacks around the world. To paint terrorists with a broad brush that extends to all Muslims is not just ignorant – it is irresponsible.”
“If we allow individuals and organizations to succeed by scaring people, we do not actually end up any safer,” Purchase continued. “Fear does not make us safer. It makes us weaker. Ramping up fear and closing our borders is not a solution. It distracts from the real issues that affect people’s day to day life.”
As a result, Fox News apologized for the misinformation that they previously reported.
“FoxNews.com initially corrected the misreported information with a tweet and an update to the story on Monday. The earlier tweets have now been deleted,” the managing director at FoxNews.com said in a statement. “We regret the error.”