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| Child Abduction Rumors Lead to Violence Against Roma in France | Child Abduction Rumors Lead to Violence Against Roma in France |
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| PARIS — The rumors — circulated on social media in recent weeks through worried messages, shaky videos or grainy screenshots — were alarming. | PARIS — The rumors — circulated on social media in recent weeks through worried messages, shaky videos or grainy screenshots — were alarming. |
| Groups of kidnappers were roaming the poorer suburbs of Paris in utility vans to snatch children. There was talk of organ trafficking. On Facebook, users posted pictures of purported abductors, urging people to be on the lookout. On Snapchat and Twitter, they posted videos of vans speeding away, proof of an attempted getaway. | Groups of kidnappers were roaming the poorer suburbs of Paris in utility vans to snatch children. There was talk of organ trafficking. On Facebook, users posted pictures of purported abductors, urging people to be on the lookout. On Snapchat and Twitter, they posted videos of vans speeding away, proof of an attempted getaway. |
| Accusations focused on the Roma, sometimes called Gypsies — an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 of whom are from Eastern Europe, mainly Bulgaria and Romania, and who live in squalid camps on the fringes of France’s cities, where they face persistent discrimination, including stereotypes of rampant thievery. | |
| It turned out that the rumors were false. No kidnappings or even attempted kidnappings have been reported to the police. But this week, the accusations were suddenly followed by an outburst of violence — the latest example of social media being used to fan prejudice — with dangerous, or even deadly, consequences. | It turned out that the rumors were false. No kidnappings or even attempted kidnappings have been reported to the police. But this week, the accusations were suddenly followed by an outburst of violence — the latest example of social media being used to fan prejudice — with dangerous, or even deadly, consequences. |
| On Monday evening, dozens of young men wielding sticks and knives attacked a Roma camp and burned two vans in Bobigny, in the northeastern suburbs of Paris. Another clash broke out there later that night between armed groups of young men and Roma. | On Monday evening, dozens of young men wielding sticks and knives attacked a Roma camp and burned two vans in Bobigny, in the northeastern suburbs of Paris. Another clash broke out there later that night between armed groups of young men and Roma. |
| Some Roma were also attacked in Clichy-sous-Bois, another northeastern suburb, and the following day two Roma men were hospitalized after they were beaten nearby, in Aulnay-sous-Bois. One video on social media — it was unclear when it had been filmed — showed a group of men pelting a van with stones and threatening those inside. | Some Roma were also attacked in Clichy-sous-Bois, another northeastern suburb, and the following day two Roma men were hospitalized after they were beaten nearby, in Aulnay-sous-Bois. One video on social media — it was unclear when it had been filmed — showed a group of men pelting a van with stones and threatening those inside. |
| Nineteen people, including two minors, have been arrested, according to the prosecutor’s office in Bobigny. Advocacy groups said they had also received reports of verbal threats against Roma or gunshots fired to intimidate them. | Nineteen people, including two minors, have been arrested, according to the prosecutor’s office in Bobigny. Advocacy groups said they had also received reports of verbal threats against Roma or gunshots fired to intimidate them. |
| Anina Ciuciu, a spokeswoman for the advocacy group La Voix des Rroms, said that social networks and messaging apps had made it easier to spread negative rumors about the Roma. She said too little was being done to take down violent hate speech and to protect the Roma. | Anina Ciuciu, a spokeswoman for the advocacy group La Voix des Rroms, said that social networks and messaging apps had made it easier to spread negative rumors about the Roma. She said too little was being done to take down violent hate speech and to protect the Roma. |
| “It’s not just fake information that is being circulated; it’s calls to murder,” she said. “Like everybody else, the Roma have a right to security.” | “It’s not just fake information that is being circulated; it’s calls to murder,” she said. “Like everybody else, the Roma have a right to security.” |
| Accusations of child-stealing by Roma are hardly new, Ms. Ciuciu said. | Accusations of child-stealing by Roma are hardly new, Ms. Ciuciu said. |
| “It’s an ancestral rumor that goes back to the Middle Ages,” she said. “It’s a stereotype that preys upon people’s deepest fears, and it sets off completely irrational reactions, like what we are seeing now.” | “It’s an ancestral rumor that goes back to the Middle Ages,” she said. “It’s a stereotype that preys upon people’s deepest fears, and it sets off completely irrational reactions, like what we are seeing now.” |
| This week, the authorities rushed to stop the rumor mill from churning out more violence. “FAKE RUMORS and FAKE NEWS,” the police for the northern Val d’Oise suburb said in a tweet. “Rumors of child kidnappings with a van are completely unfounded,” said the Paris police prefecture. Several mayors issued statements to soothe worried parents. | This week, the authorities rushed to stop the rumor mill from churning out more violence. “FAKE RUMORS and FAKE NEWS,” the police for the northern Val d’Oise suburb said in a tweet. “Rumors of child kidnappings with a van are completely unfounded,” said the Paris police prefecture. Several mayors issued statements to soothe worried parents. |
| The ubiquity of social media and instant messaging apps has made such rumors quicker to spread, with a wider reach. People can be rapidly exposed to alarming messages or to photos and videos that are stripped of any context and that are presented as proof of a crime. | The ubiquity of social media and instant messaging apps has made such rumors quicker to spread, with a wider reach. People can be rapidly exposed to alarming messages or to photos and videos that are stripped of any context and that are presented as proof of a crime. |
| In some countries, the results have been deadly. Dozens were killed in India last year by mobs after false rumors about child kidnappers went viral on WhatsApp, the messaging app owned by Facebook. Similar rumors have led to lynchings in Indonesia and Mexico, and social media has played a crucial role in stoking ethnic and religious violence in countries like Sri Lanka and Myanmar. | In some countries, the results have been deadly. Dozens were killed in India last year by mobs after false rumors about child kidnappers went viral on WhatsApp, the messaging app owned by Facebook. Similar rumors have led to lynchings in Indonesia and Mexico, and social media has played a crucial role in stoking ethnic and religious violence in countries like Sri Lanka and Myanmar. |
| Benjamin Griveaux, who was the French government spokesman until he resigned on Wednesday to pursue a run for Paris mayor, said that this week’s violence was “detestable” and showed “the absolute necessity to fight against fake news.” | Benjamin Griveaux, who was the French government spokesman until he resigned on Wednesday to pursue a run for Paris mayor, said that this week’s violence was “detestable” and showed “the absolute necessity to fight against fake news.” |
| France passed a contentious law last year to counter the “manipulation of information,” but it is meant mainly for electoral races, giving candidates the possibility to ask judges to block content deemed false during a three-month period preceding an election, for instance. | France passed a contentious law last year to counter the “manipulation of information,” but it is meant mainly for electoral races, giving candidates the possibility to ask judges to block content deemed false during a three-month period preceding an election, for instance. |
| Another bill, set to be discussed in Parliament in May, will outline new rules to fight hate speech online, but it is not specifically intended to stop rumors from spreading over the internet. French law already makes it illegal to spread false news, with offenders facing a fine of 45,000 euros, or more than $50,000. | Another bill, set to be discussed in Parliament in May, will outline new rules to fight hate speech online, but it is not specifically intended to stop rumors from spreading over the internet. French law already makes it illegal to spread false news, with offenders facing a fine of 45,000 euros, or more than $50,000. |
| And while the internet has made it easier to debunk hoaxes, it can also reignite those that would otherwise have died down, said Pascal Froissart, a sociologist at the Université Paris 8 who has specialized in the study of rumors. Rumors of child kidnappers in vans, for instance, had surfaced in past months and years. | And while the internet has made it easier to debunk hoaxes, it can also reignite those that would otherwise have died down, said Pascal Froissart, a sociologist at the Université Paris 8 who has specialized in the study of rumors. Rumors of child kidnappers in vans, for instance, had surfaced in past months and years. |
| “The problem with the internet is that you leave traces,” Mr. Froissart told Europe1 radio on Thursday. “All it takes is for a message to resurface online and be misinterpreted or reinterpreted, and off it goes again.” | “The problem with the internet is that you leave traces,” Mr. Froissart told Europe1 radio on Thursday. “All it takes is for a message to resurface online and be misinterpreted or reinterpreted, and off it goes again.” |