A short thread on the importance of accuracy & nuance in reporting during the coronavirus crisis.
On Saturday, an Italian newspaper reported that the Czech Rep. had "arbitrarily seized" 100,000s of masks & 1000s of ventilators that China had sent to Italy repubblica.it/esteri/2020/03…
On Saturday, an Italian newspaper reported that the Czech Rep. had "arbitrarily seized" 100,000s of masks & 1000s of ventilators that China had sent to Italy repubblica.it/esteri/2020/03…
The way La Repubblica told the story suggested the Czech govt intended to steal the masks under the guise of a sting against traffickers until a whistleblower from the opposition Pirate party came forward. It described the whole incident "as a serious lack of solidarity in EU"
The story generated more than 400,000 engagements on Facebook and Twitter — and, justifiably, lots of angry reactions. Many on the left used the story to attack the nationalist allies of Italy's right. Eurosceptics jumped on the story to attack the EU. 
But what the article failed to make clear is that the Czech govt says — on the record — that the story as told by the newspaper is inaccurate. According to its version of events, authorities seized the items from a warehouse following a criminal complaint and suspected smuggling
Among the seized items — 680,000 masks and 28,000 ventilators — were 101,600 masks that had been sent from China to Italy. The Czech government said it informed both countries
On Sunday, the Czech foreign minister wrote to his Italian counterpart to explain the operation, and to say that 110,000 masks from its own stock will be sent to Italy while an investigation was ongoing, and that the "unfortunate issue" had "created false impressions."
The Czech ambassador in Italy has also written to La Repubblica to complain that the "inaccurate information" that the newspaper published had led to many negative reactions.
The article has been updated several times, but when I last checked makes no mention of the updates — which is bad practice — nor does it make clear that the underlying point of the story is disputed
At this stage it is is unclear what actually happened because an investigation is ongoing. In the meantime, a bus carrying 110,000 masks left the Czech Republic for Italy this morning.
