HERE’S WHAT THE WORLD WAS TOLD YESTERDAY: Suspected Iran-linked terrorists were caught with vans filled with explosives near a US airbase in the UK. US president Donald Trump said his intelligence people had been watching the men for a “long time” because they “were looking to do big damage”.
昨天全世界被告知的是這樣：疑似與伊朗有關的恐怖分子在英國一座美國空軍基地附近被捕，車上載滿爆裂物。美國總統川普說，他的情報人員已監視這些人「很長一段時間」，因為他們「想造成重大破壞」。
今天早上，我們得知什麼？上述報導全是錯的。
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZPLJTehcm/
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02RuvzAh5ZXBmn7C5zzUrjfRYpFuc2mwkTwnNtC5qB3k7QhQfkA3NX3oZLGB4aqn51l&id=100036400039778&mibextid=wwXIfr
· 如今已揭露，警方表示「未在車內發現任何爆裂物」。
· 廂型車內裝的是柴油，而由於不必要的衝突，例如美國與以色列攻擊伊朗，柴油價格已飆升。
· 這些車輛印有「Fuel 2You」的品牌標誌，顯示它們是在公開運送燃料。
· 此外，「五名男子全是英國公民」。
· 再者，並無來自美國情報機構的線報，而是來自一名50多歲的當地農婦，她看到男子開著白色廂型車後報警。
· 照片後來證明是透過OpenAI程式，從一張模糊的原圖創意變造而來。
· 最值得注意的是，所有男子都已獲保釋，顯示他們不被認為具有危險性。
天差地別
一天的差別可真大。值得回想昨天的頭條實際說了什麼。《衛報》說：「反恐警察調查美國使用之皇家空軍基地疑似炸彈陰謀中的伊朗關聯」。「五名男子在格洛斯特郡費爾福德皇家空軍基地附近發現爆裂物後，依恐怖主義罪名被捕」。
這些加上了AI生成人臉的照片，被包括英國陸軍退伍軍人團體在內的數個群組分享到社群媒體，並迅速傳播，至少被觀看160萬次。
報導說在英國鄉間靠近格洛斯特郡費爾福德皇家空軍基地的部分地區，發現男子行跡可疑，這當然站得住腳。但這不是報導他們有滿車爆裂物要炸毀空軍基地，並把矛頭指向伊朗的藉口。
真正的事實
正如帶有一點健康懷疑態度的人所知，真正的真相（相對於頭條所說）通常可以在內文深處找到。
這個故事也是如此。
《衛報》關於此事的最新報導，最後一段說，英國的伊朗大使館表示，這些報導稱這是伊朗行動的說法不實，並指出衝突中真正的違法行為：
「散布這類捏造的揣測，尤其是在美國與以色列政權對伊朗人民犯下犯罪侵略行為之後，只會助長英國的恐伊朗宣傳，別無其他目的。」
當然，諷刺的是，全球柴油竊盜激增，因為價格翻倍已導致數百萬人實際上無法運轉他們的工廠和車輛。
全球燃料危機是由美國與以色列2月28日攻擊伊朗所引發——聯合國已同意這是一項持續中的戰爭罪。
我們能說出美國用於其行動的其中一座基地嗎？
可以。英國格洛斯特郡的費爾福德皇家空軍基地。
This morning, what do we learn? The story above is all WRONG.
- It has now been revealed that “no explosive material had been found” in the vehicles, police said.
- The vans contained diesel, the value of which has soared because of unnecessary conflicts, such as the US-Israel attack on Iran.
- The vehicles were branded “Fuel 2You”, suggesting they were openly transporting fuel.
- Also, “All five men were British Nationals”.
- Further, no tip-off came from US intelligence but from a local farmer in her 50s who called the police after seeing men with white vans.
- Photos turned out to have been creatively spun out of one blurred original by an OpenAI program.
- Most notably, all the men were released on bail, indicating that they were not considered dangerous.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE
What a difference a day makes. It’s worth recalling what yesterday’s headlines actually said. “Counter-terror police investigate Iran link over suspected bomb plot at RAF base used by US,” the Guardian said. “Five men arrested on terrorism charges after explosives found near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire”.
The photos with added AI-generated faces were shared on social media by several groups, including the British Army Veterans Group, and spread quickly, viewed at least 1.6 million times.
It’s certainly valid to report that men apparently acting suspiciously were found in part of rural Britain near an airbase, RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire. That’s no excuse to report that they had vans of explosives to blow up an airbase and point the finger at Iran.
THE REAL STORY
As people with a little healthy skepticism know, the actual truth (as opposed to what the headlines say) can usually be found buried deep inside the text.
And so it is with this story.
The very last paragraph of the latest report on this tale in the Guardian says that the UK’s Iranian embassy said the reports of this being an Iranian operation were false, and pointed to the real illegality in the conflict:
“The circulation of such fabricated speculations, particularly in the aftermath of the criminal acts of aggression committed by the United States and the Israeli regime against the Iranian people, will serve no purpose other than to fuel Iranophobia propaganda in the UK.”
The irony, of course, is that diesel thefts have soared worldwide as the doubling of prices have led to literally millions of people being unable to run their factories and vehicles.
A global fuel crisis was triggered by the US-Israel attack on Iran on February 28—which the UN has agreed is an ongoing war crime.
And can we name one of the bases the US is using for its operations?
Yes. RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, UK.
