Hoaxmap – ''News from the rumor mill'' – is a project created on the personal initiative of Karolin Schwarz, an ethnologist of African studies from
Leipzig
Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
, Germany. Since February 8, 2016, the website hoaxmap.org is online, starting with a list of 177
hoax
A hoax (plural: hoaxes) is a widely publicised falsehood created to deceive its audience with false and often astonishing information, with the either malicious or humorous intent of causing shock and interest in as many people as possible.
S ...
es. In June 2016, 400 hoaxes were recorded with origin or reference point, including evidence of inaccuracy.
Most of the false reports and rumors consist of defamation against
refugees
A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...
caught up in the
European migrant crisis
The 2015 European migrant crisis was a period of significantly increased movement of refugees and Human migration, migrants into Europe, mostly from the Middle East. An estimated 1.3 million people came to the continent to request Right of asyl ...
. Schwarz receives subtle threats from the political right. Other people thanked her for clarification. The hoax usually is spread due to prejudices of those holding a simplistic view, dividing the world into good and evil, and with a lack of
media literacy
Media literacy is an expanded conceptualization of literacy that includes the ability to access and analyze Media (communication), media messages, as well as create, reflect and take action—using the power of information and communication—to ma ...
. News and broadcasts from Australia, USA, Arabia and Germany reported about the Hoaxmap project. In April 2016 Hoaxmap was nominated for ''
Grimme Online Award
The Grimme-Preis (Grimme Award), formerly known as the Adolf-Grimme-Preis, is one of the most prestigious German television awards. It is named after the first general director of Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk, Adolf Grimme. The Grimme Institute ...
''.
[Katharina Leuoth]
''Schon gehört, …?''
(''tr. "Already heard"''), Freie Presse, 25 June 2016
Besides positive feedback,
Falschmeldungen im Internet – Diese Karte entlarvt Gerüchte über Flüchtlinge.
' (''tr. "Internet Fake News - This map debunks rumors about refugees."'') In: ''Süddeutsche Zeitung
The ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'' (; ), published in Munich, Bavaria, is one of the largest and most influential daily newspapers in Germany. The tone of ''SZ'' is mainly described as centre-left, liberal, social-liberal, progressive-liberal, and ...
'' online, 9 February 2016. subtle threats were sent to Schwarz.
In 2018 local news reduced reporting about false information, following which Hoaxmap could not list such rumors as refuted.
The map has drawn on data from other aggregators such as
Mimikama.
External links
*https://hoaxmap.org/ – Website
List of rumors and hoaxes
References
{{Authority control
Anti-racism in Germany
German websites
Investigative journalism
European migrant crisis
Fact-checking websites