By Graham West
In today’s Kent Messenger newspaper, on page 2 there is a report about social media spreading fake news, but the picture shows, what is reported to be “A deserted looking High street taken THIS MONTH” when in fact the picture they are featuring shows premises which haave been closed for over five years!
The KM has recently has attracted criticism from The Looker for lifting locally sourced news stories from their website and Facebook pages and reporting them as their own. The most recent related to a story that was exculsive to the Looker relating to New Romney town council which appeared almost word for word what was written in the Looker report, plus another taken from our Facebook page .
The latest slip up was made aware to us by local resident Shaun Eastman who contacted The Looker and said: “Perhaps you should send the KM some up to date pictures as they are claiming to have taken pictures this month, makes you wonder if they have visited New Romney lately as anyone who has visited the town in the last 6 years would know this is clearly an old picture as the new houses have suddenly disappeared and three of the shops have changed too!”
Asking for Looker editor, David Wimble’s response to the article, he replied: “I’m surprised they are calling it fake news, when we hold the documentation which suggests otherwise. Obviously the KM do not have access to the same reliable sources as we do. Maybe the picture editor for the KM needs a reprimand and there is also a mistake on page 7 claiming that the Cinque Port Arms is in Dymchurch Highstreet…….That really is Fake News! Perhaps if the editor cared to visit New Romney then he would know how old the picture he was using was, he might even pick up some of his own news stories too.”
