Utter fail for Breitbart, suggests German footballer is a human trafficker

Breitbart claimed traffickers were smuggling migrants from Morocco into Europe via the Strait of Gibraltar by using jet-skis, but published it with a photo of Lukas Podolski.

Published on: Aug 20, 2017, 16:40:45 IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | By Kartikeya Ramanathan

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Right-wing publication Breitbart News has appeared to have made a serious error, seemingly accusing German footballer and World Cup winner Lukas Podolski is involved in human trafficking.

Lukas Podolski celebrates scoring a goal on July 29, 2017. (AFP)

On Friday, the Breitbart, in a story titled “Spanish Police Crack Gang Moving Migrants on Jet-Skis”, claimed traffickers were smuggling migrants from Morocco into Europe via the Strait of Gibraltar by using jet-skis. However, the publication, for some inexplicable reason, used an image of the 32-year-old footballer riding on a jet ski.

It is unlikely that World Cup winner Podolski is a human trafficker (Screengrab)

Despite many people pointing out the error on Twitter, the article — with the photo — remained in place. They have also not tweeted a clarification or issued an apology for using Podolski’s photo.

It is quite unlikely that Podolski would smuggle Moroccans into Europe — he’s currently playing for Vissel Kobe in Japan.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kartikeya Ramanathan
Kartikeya creates, curates and edits content for the print and digital media streams. A compulsive tweeter, he will never hear a word against his beloved Arsenal.

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