In April, during a fire in Notre Dame, a Sputnik France correspondent took a photograph of a burning cathedral, with two smiling young people of eastern appearance in the foreground, RIA Novosti writes.
Editors Sputnik did not make any comments on the photo. When the photo circulated on the Internet, some Western media accused Sputnik of trying to influence society’s attitude towards the Muslim population.
At the same time, in their collection “Fake or for real”, The Guardian newspaper in Instagram called the photo fake news, British journalists referred to American experts who said that the picture was mounted.
After that, Sputnik provided proof of the authenticity of the photograph by posting its source with metadata. Four months later, the British newspaper admitted its wrongness and apologized to the agency.
“Accuracy is important to us, so if you are a fan of our Fake or for real project, please read the following: in the Fake or for real issue of April 19, we suggested that the widely-taken photograph taken during the fire in Notre- Lady, was edited. The copyright holder of the photo contacted us, and we acknowledge: the photo was not edited. We apologize for saying the opposite, ”the British publication reported on Instagram.
On April 15, a major fire broke out in Notre Dame, which lasted more than 12 hours. The roof and spire of the cathedral collapsed.