Der Spiegel


2011-03-12

  • Reporter: Thilo Thielke
  • Date: 2011-03-13
  • Score: 8
  • Link to Article: http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/gesellschaft/0,1518,750649,00.html
  • Reporting faults and errors: Demonstratably false story, rampant speculation, scaremongering
  • Description: He claims that "people are buying up all the bicycles from the bicycle stores in order to be able to escape in case of a mass panic." That's very new to me and anybody who actually was in Tokyo at that time. Fact is: people may buy some bicycles in order to stay mobile when the trains are failing again, but by no means to escape a mass panic. That is the fantasy of the author. "Public buildings are deserted", he describes. Of course, they are deserted because it is a weekend. Later, he goes on to claim that Tokyo resembles a "ghost town" and that most of the shops are closed. Note that this article is from the 13th of March, day three after the earthquake. Anybody who was actually in Tokyo can confirm that this is, again, a product of fantasy and fiction. The author speculates about a nuclear clowd coming to Tokyo and nuclear explosions.
  • JPquake Editor: HJS

2011-03-19

  • Reporter: Staff
  • Date: 2011-03-19
  • Score: 5
  • Link to Article: http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/0,1518,751914,00.html#ref=top
  • Reporting faults and errors: Misleading headline
  • Description: The Headline of the Newsticker tells: "In Lebensmitteln aus Fukushima wurde erhöhte Radioaktivität nachgewiesen, auch das Trinkwasser ist verseucht." It means that food from Fukushima is found radioactive and Water contaminated too. The German word "verseucht" is a strong word, that has no differentiation. The fact is, that the radiation found in the water is minimal. Much less the value for baby-food in Germany. Radiation in water is elevated, water is NOT contaminated.
  • JPquake Editor HJS

2011-03-22

  • Reporter: Wieland Wagner
  • Date: 2011-03-22
  • Score: 6
  • Link to Article: http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/0,1518,751914,00.html#ref=top
  • Reporting faults and errors: Casual racism, fabrication
  • Description: Titling "Tokyo in the grip of fear and apathy", Mr. Wagner totally exaggerates the situation in Tokyo. He depicts Tokyo being grey and colourless due to electricity shortage (Tokyo is ALWAYS grey) and its residents losing their joie de vivre as they might have to relinquish their "beloved sushi" (as Tokyoters are surely known for partying on the streets day and night). The author weaves a tale of doom and gloom which has no semblance to reality. Finally, he compares the workers at nuclear plant Fukushima 1 to "Kamikaze pilots" of WW II. All in all, Mr. Wagner successfully puts the three most wanted clichés of Japan and Tokyo in one article: 1. Tokyo is a neon light flickering, colourful city and its residents use to party day and night. 2. Japanese, especially Tokyoters, eat sushi all the time (which is not true as an average Japanese probably eats less sushi as an average German yuppie) 3. Kamikaze pilots.
  • JPquake Editor HJS

2011-03-25

  • Reporter: Cinthia Briseño
  • Date: 2011-03-25
  • Score: 5
  • Link to Article: http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/technik/0,1518,753117,00.html
  • Reporting faults and errors: Confusing Sv with mSv
  • Description: Journalist writes: "Die Inhalation von 40 Milliardstelgramm Plutonium 239 genügt, um eine akute Strahlenbelastung von 15 Millisievert im Körper zu verursachen. Dann kommt es zu einer schweren Strahlenkrankheit (siehe Kasten links), die innerhalb weniger Tage tödlich endet." Roughly translated: The inhalation of 40 ng Plutonium 239 cause an acute exposure of 15 mSv to the body. This leads to radiation sickness that causes death within days. I just wonder if there is information lacking in this article or if the journalist mixes up mSv and Sv... In the end the article is causing the typical panic in the comments to this article...
  • JPquake Editor AHM

2011-03-29

  • Reporter: Cinthia Briseño
  • Date: 2011-03-29
  • Score: 6
  • Link to Article: http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/technik/0,1518,753770,00.html
  • Reporting faults and errors: Bad-faith reporting
  • Description: The article's title is "Traces of plutonium reveal extend of the catastrophy"(Plutonium-Spuren enthüllen Ausmaß der Katastrophe) while in the article an official of the AS is cited "(...) if the plutonium has broken through the original containment it would show the severity of this accident(...)"
    But probably the headline was more important.
    Also TEPCO is cited with the remark that found Pu traces are not dangerous to health. The amount which was discovered(0.54bql per m2)is not cited,but TEPCO accused of playing down the problem.("herunterspielen")
    As usual in Der SPIEGEL the undoubtetly dangerous effects on health of Pu are painted in the most horrible colours, just to have at the end of the article an expert explaining that Pu is heavy and unlikely to move far.
  • JPquake Editor AHM

2011-03-30

  • Reporter: Cinthia Briseño
  • Date: 2011-03-30
  • Score: 4
  • Link to Article: http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/technik/0,1518,754074,00.html
  • Reporting faults and errors: Bad-faith reporting
  • Description: The title of this article is: "Japanese want to wrap the reactor up". These measures which are considered by the Japanese are called "desperate" as all the cooling operations (water spraying) have been called before. Everything is always desperate ("verzweifelt"). The article opens "The stream of evil tidings ["Hiobsbotschaft"] from Fukushima does not end (...). But the second sentence actually cites the TEPCO press conference with the message that the situation in the 6 reactors has improved but leaves it at that and gives no details about the improvements just to continue with all the "evil tidings"from the days before. The article cites "Greepeace" which has detected high radiation levels at Iwate but does not cite NHK and the published radiation monitoring (www.pref.fukushima.jp/j/20-30km16.pdf) which indicates a steady decline of radiation. At the very end of the article Cinthia Briseño writes about the new safety standards for Nuclear Power Plants which have been issued by the Japanese government just to conclude that Japan has 53 power plants "many close to the sea". Written in a way to give the reader a very uneasy sense of approaching doom.
  • JPquake Editor AHM
        Comments