Anatomy Of A Fake News Story: How A Muslim Politician Became A … – BuzzFeed News

Did you hear the one about how Anne Aly, Australias first female Muslim federal MP, refused to lay a wreath at a recent Anzac Day service?

If youre a traveller in right wing Australian Facebook circles, theres a fair chance you did. From the Kim Vuga Love Australia Or Leave Party page to the Bolt Report Supporters group, rumours of Alys disrespect have been circling for a few days.

The only problem is, its just not true.

The rumour appears to have kicked off at around 8:30pm on Anzac Day which marks the anniversary of Australia and New Zealands first major battle in WWI when it was posted to the Kim Vuga Love Australia or Leave Party page.

The must read story was posted by Vuga, the founder and president of the Love Australia or Leave Party and posed the question: What the hell are they doing in our country? You can guess who they refers to.

The story came to Vuga from Gary, a regular commenter on the page who apparently sent it to her via direct message. It claimed that Gary was at the Wanneroo RSL dawn service, north of Perth in Western Australia.

Everything went very well until the Wreath laying ceremony when the guy announcing the people laying Wreaths said the Local Member Anne Ally would not be presenting the Wreath for the local government, the post said.

What a bitch.

A few hours later Vugas post was picked up by the Fair Suck Of The Sav, Mate Facebook page, where Alys failure to lay a wreath had now become a refusal.

That post was shared more than 450 times by the pages 49,000 followers, and from there it took off, bouncing around the right wing Facebook echo chamber, whipping conservatives into a fevered frenzy about the Muslim MP who disrespected our Diggers.

Alys WA electorate of Cowan has two dawn services one at Wanneroo and one at Ballajura and because the sun only rises once a day, she can only attend one.

Last year it was Wanneroo, so this year she attended the Ballajura ceremony and sent a wreath to Wanneroo, where state MP Sabine Winton laid it on her behalf.

Alys been to three Anzac ceremonies this week, and shell attend three more before the week is out.

Aly, who was a counter terror and deradicalisation expert before entering parliament, says the claims are offensive and distracting.

I have a strong relationship with the RSL, she told BuzzFeed News. I take a lot of pride in it. I work a lot with victims of terror and with first responders, with people who have sacrificed. I have a lot of respect for our service men and women.

The news has now seeped into the mainstream. Aly says shes heard it being reported on some local talkback stations.

Its absolutely disgusting that the very people who are falsely claiming outrage are the same people who are disrespecting Anzac day for their own agenda, she said.

I dont look at my life through the lens of my religious identity. I dont look at everything only through the lens of Islam. But people look at me only through that lens and cant see me as anything else.

When contacted by BuzzFeed News Kim Vuga was unrepentant about any role she played in the spreading of a false rumour.

She said she had never claimed that Aly had refused to lay a wreath, only that she had failed to lay one, and said she trusted her friend Gary to tell the truth.

I only shared what I was given, she told BuzzFeed News.

When asked why she hadnt checked her facts before posting, she said that that was the job of journalists, and perhaps BuzzFeed News would be better off investigating the recent controversy surrounding Muslim writer and TV host Yassmin Abdel-Magied.

Vuga hasnt yet passed on Garys details to us, but if she does, well update this post.

Other perspectives on this story

I see too much of this; the willful misrepresentation of facts in order to generate outrage and hate. Too many ignorant and fearful people accept (and repeat) it without question...What does it say about what our country is becoming that the standard of debate and discussion has fallen so far that people regurgitate these fictions when arguing their position? I'm beyond angry about this - and I'm not even the victim of the lie!

If you're of the wrong background, even doing everything right isn't enough to stop you being attacked.

I suspect the majority of people who saw this on Facebook, aren't exactly pro-Islam in the first place, and it did nothing but reinforce existing opinions. Nor is any retraction likely to change their opinions either...I've pointed out that a story someone I know has shared is verifiable bullshit, and instead of reconsidering, there's some limp retort about how the exact details aren't important because it still happens "a lot"..."

...it's a symptom of social media. Her being Muslim is a part of the puzzle but let's not forget that all noteworthy people deal with a barrage of unjustified complaints from people on a daily basis...this is a huge problem now because anyone can say anything and have it seen by many...The algorithms that decide what we see...shape our world view more than most care to admit...

Wonder if Anne Aly could sue for defamation?

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