What were the most egregious embellishments that were published?
The four big ones were (1) that he personally campaigned against minarets, (2) that he became a major politician through this campaign, (3) that he suddenly converted to Islam, and (4) that he vowed he would build the most beautiful mosque in Europe. This picture is far from the truth. 4. Why do you think the story was reported incorrectly in so many different places, including on Examiner.com? The false version is a simpler and more dramatic story. The false story is like a Hollywood movie. The truth is nuanced. He belonged to a party that became (in)famous for its minaret ban, but he wasn’t part of that campaign itself. He probably joined the party years ago for other issues. 5. Do you believe that there could be negative consequences for misreporting this story? Yes. As I mentioned, Islamophobes find his conversion embarrassing. They’ve already begun using the exaggerated add-on’s as an excuse for denying the whole story altogether. It becomes one more way for people to insulate the
