“Sharp objects were found”
And so the incompetent hacks (unless, worse, they’re doing it on purpose) roll up to spread the malevolent lies. A “trainee community reporter” in the South Wales Argus:
GWENT Police have issued a plea to people in Newport to not remove any posters they see in the city – after sharp objects were found behind some.
No they weren’t. Someone claimed they were, and the police took the claim seriously, or pretended to.
The warning comes as a 53-year-old woman was arrested on Sunday, January 23 after being caught spraying stickers to two lampposts by patrolling police officers.
Lampposts that, as I understand it, are already covered in stickers. (Also you can’t “spray” them. The police said they were “sprayed” and trainee reporter simply repeated the nonsense.)
Superintendent Vicki Townsend said that the force had been receiving complaints about offensive posters since October and that on a search of the woman’s home, more stickers and posters were found.
We’re supposed to conclude that the stickers and posters that “were found” are offensive or worse, but it’s merely insinuated, so that the reporter and the paper can wriggle out of any libel accusations. It’s utterly disgusting reporting.
The nature of the posters has not been disclosed.
Then don’t insinuate that they were somehow evil.
The woman was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and displaying threatening or abusive writing likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress.
Except that second “on suspicion” is completely bogus. We’ve seen the posters in question and they don’t contain “threatening or abusive writing.” This stupid (at best, malicious at worst) trainee reporter is doing her best to malign Jennifer Swayne by repeating the police lies.
Superintendent Townsend said: “We’ve received several reports in relation to posters containing offensive material appearing in Newport between October and January.”
She continued: “We published a post on one of our Twitter accounts on Friday 21 January, asking the public to not remove posters, including those containing offensive material, in the city after sharp objects had been found behind them.”
Except they weren’t found. Were they? Has that changed? Have the police said “Yes we ourselves found sharp objects behind them?” Last I heard they hadn’t, they were simply sharing what someone told them, the someone quite possibly being that one goon who has been Twitter-bragging about spreading this bullshit.
The trainee reporter a couple of hours ago:
Don’t know how many times it has to be said that repeating unsubstantiated allegations is poor journalistic ethics. If you don’t do your job properly, expect to be called out.
Right? I told her as much, but she hasn’t replied. (Big surprise.)
For all the talk about the media’s left wing and anti-police bias I seldom see any statements made by the police given even the most cursory critical examination. And where the police have done something clearly wrong or questionable, the language is always ultra passive to the point meaning and impact is lost. This ‘reporter’ carries on that shameful tradition.
nutmeg on this:
https://grahamlinehan.substack.com/p/the-razor-blades-libel
One further point on the logistics of this: Jenni is supposed to have placed object under sticker and sticker on surface with one arm in a sling and sitting on a mobility scooter. In broad daylight, in full view of everyone, a few yards from a police station.
I mean, I’m sure it’s possible….
latsot, that thought had occurred to me as well. Quite apart from the sheer improbability of it happening anyway, Jenni’s physical capability to do that seems rather limited. Not to mention that if she were doing this intentionally, surely she would have had a bag of ‘sharps’ on her at the time of her arrest?
Notable that the trans-stickerer working in the same district got a positive response from the police – not arrested for vandalism (stickering), just a friendly chat about what they were up to.
I just scrolled through her Twitter and she has retweeted something about a vigil for Ashling Murphy, and, I quote, “all women lost to male violence”. Someone ought to point out to her the text of those “hateful stickers”. She will no doubt hand herself in to Gwent Police immediately.