Scolding of the press council to Glarus free newspaper Fridolin
The Press Council issued a reprimand to the Glarus-based free newspaper *Fridolin* for violating the duty to report the truth and for discriminating against asylum seekers.
The Swiss Press Council approved a complaint by a private individual against the Glarus weekly newspaper Fridolin on the main points. As it announced on Friday, the free newspaper violated the duty of truth and discriminated against asylum seekers.
The offending publication dates from October last year. According to the Press Council, an editor wrote that asylum seekers were stealing goods "by the backpackful" from major distributors and retailers in Glarus.
They were very brazen about it. They ate in the store without paying or put on new clothes right away. The author accused the retailers of a muzzling policy. However, the press offices contacted by the author were unable to confirm the thefts, as was the media spokesman for the Glarus cantonal police.
Designation of the source essential
According to the Press Council, it is in the interest of the public that a source be verified and named. Although the author of the offending lines had invoked the protection of sources, it was not clear from his article that he was relying on sources known to him and verified by him.
On the contrary, the Press Council wrote further, all statements quoted in the article refute the alleged facts. Even the easily accessible official crime statistics do not support the allegations.
For the Press Council, this is "a clear violation of the duty to tell the truth, the first principle of the Journalists' Code". The unquestioned, factually incorrect and sweeping claims about asylum seekers also violate the ban on discrimination.
According to its own statements, the Glarus regional newspaper positions itself in principle as "clearly conservative in its values". And it sees itself as a "mirror image and mouthpiece of the canton of Glarus," as Fridolin's self-advertisement puts it. (SDA)
