Section II · SubversionExhibit S-025
Contradiction
Reuters on German crime: refugee study vs. Trump's claim
■ The pieces
- Reuters (via Yahoo News): Violent crime rises in Germany and is attributed to refugees (Jan 3, 2018)https://www.yahoo.com/news/violent-crime-rises-germany-attributed-refugees-141559803.html
- Reuters (via Jerusalem Post wire): Trump blasts migration in Europe as causing 'culture' change (June 18, 2018)https://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Trump-blasts-migration-in-Europe-as-causing-culture-change-560253
- CBS News: Trump says crime in Germany is way up, but it's actually down (June 19, 2018)https://www.cbsnews.com/news/germany-crime-rate-donald-trump-tweet-today-fact-check-2018-06-18/
■ What they show
In January 2018 Reuters reported a government-sponsored study that found violent crime in Germany rose about 10 percent in 2015-16 and attributed most of that rise to young male refugees. In June 2018 Reuters covered Trump's statement that migration was changing Europe's 'culture'. Contemporaneous fact checks described his claim that German crime was 'way up' as inaccurate.
■ The other side
The two pieces measure different things: the January study covered violent crime in 2015-16, mostly in Lower Saxony, while the June coverage relied on 2017 national statistics showing total recorded crime at its lowest level since 1992.
Who it helped: DemocratsCalled Trump's claim inaccurate after reporting a similar finding.
■ Why it's here
This exhibit is filed under Subversion, not graded as a lie. What subversion means →