Country’s politicians warn against fake news after Breitbart website said group chanting ‘Allahu Akbar’ vandalised church on New Year’s Eve 
 
 German media and politicians have warned against an election-year spike in fake news after the rightwing website Breitbart claimed a mob chanting “Allahu Akbar” had set fire to a church in the city of Dortmund on New Year’s Eve. 
 
 After the report by the US site was widely shared on social media, the city’s police clarified that no “extraordinary or spectacular” incidents had marred the festivities. 
 
 The local newspaper, Ruhr Nachrichten, said elements of its online reporting on New Year’s Eve had been distorted by Breitbart to produce “fake news, hate and propaganda”. 
 
 The justice minister of Hesse state, Eva Kühne-Hörmann, said that “the danger is that these stories spread with incredible speed and take on lives of their own”. 
 
 The controversy highlights a deepening divide between backers of German chancellor Angela Merkel’s liberal stance toward refugees and a rightwing movement that opposes immigration, fears Islam and distrusts the government and media. 
 
 Tens of thousands clicked and shared the Breitbart.com story with the headline “Revealed: 1,000-man mob attack police, set Germany’s oldest church alight on New Year’s Eve”. 
 
 It said the men had “chanted Allahu Akbar (God is greatest), launched fireworks at police and set fire to a historic church”, while also massing “around the flag of al-Qaida and Islamic State collaborators the Free Syrian Army.” 
 
 The local newspaper said Breitbart had combined and exaggerated unconnected incidents to create a picture of chaos and of foreigners promoting terrorism. 
 
 Stray fireworks did start a small blaze, but only on netting covering scaffolding on the church and it was put out after about 12 minutes, the paper reported. The roof was not on fire and the church is not Germany’s oldest. 
 
 Dortmund police on Thursday said its officers had handled 185 missions that night, sharply down from 421 the previous year. The force’s leader judged the night as “rather average to quiet”, in part thanks to a large police presence. 
 
 The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung daily said Breitbart had used exaggerations and factual errors to create “an image of chaotic civil war-like conditions in Germany, caused by Islamist aggressors”. 
 
 It said the article “may be a foretaste” of what is to come before parliamentary elections expected in September as some websites spread “misinformation and distortion in order to diminish trust in established institutions”. 
 
 Justice minister Heiko Maas warned in mid-December that Germany would use its laws against deliberate disinformation and that freedom of expression did not protect “slander and defamation”. 
 
 Bild, Germany’s top-selling daily, also predicted trouble ahead – pointing to the fact that Breitbart’s former editor Steve Bannon had been appointed as US president-elect Donald Trump’s chief strategist. 
 
 It warned that Breitbart – which plans to launch German and French language sites – could seek to “aggravate the tense political climate in Germany”. 
 
 Breitbart has declined to comment. ||||| Germany on Friday reacted to an unsubstantiated news report published by American right-wing publication "Breitbart" that claimed a "mob" chanting "God is great" in Arabic had set fire to a Dortmund church on New Year's Eve. 
 
 Under the headline "Revealed: 1,000-man mob attack police, set Germany's oldest church alight on New Year's Eve," the news site claimed that "more than 1,000 men chanted 'Allahu Akhbar,' launched fireworks at police and set fire to a historic church." 
 
 However, local newspaper "Ruhr Nachrichten" said that parts of its reporting on New Year's Eve had been taken out of context and distorted to produce "fake news, hate and propaganda." 
 
 "Breitbart" reported that the men seen in a video posted by "Ruhr Nachrichten" reporter Peter Bandermann had amassed "around the flag of al-Qaeda and 'Islamic State' collaborators, the 'Free Syrian Army.'" 
 
 However, the flag seen in the video is widely used by various elements of the Syrian opposition, and dates to Syria's independence from French occupation. 
 
 In the tweet, Bandermann wrote that the Syrians had been celebrating an "armistice in their country." 
 
 'Rather average' night 
 
 Meanwhile, netting over scraffolding near a historic church in the city had witnessed a small fire due to wayward fireworks. Authorities said the fire had been put out within 12 minutes and did not damage the structure. 
 
 Listen to audio 04:17 Now live 04:17 mins. Share France calling for Breitbart News? Send Facebook google+ Whatsapp Tumblr linkedin stumble Digg reddit Newsvine Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/2UO0O WorldLink: France calling for Breitbart News? 
 
 Police said the evening had passed "rather average to quiet," noting that the number of reported incidents fell sharply compared to last year. 
 
 Eva Kühne-Hörmann, justice minister of Hesse state, on Friday warned of the consequences disinformation could have in Germany. 
 
 "The danger is that these stories spread with incredible speed and take on lives of their own," she said. 
 
 The story published by "Breitbart" comes amid reports that the right-wing publication seeks to expand in Europe, specifically Germany and France, which are preparing for a momentous election year. 
 
 The publication's influence has expanded since its creation in 2007 after US President-elect Donald Trump nominated Steve Bannon, a former "Breitbart" editor, as his chief strategist. 
 
 ls/se (AFP, DW)
– German police say they're "in disbelief" over a false story published by Breitbart, which a local publication claims was trying to create "an image of chaotic civil war-like conditions in Germany, caused by Islamist aggressors." The AFP reports Breitbart ran a story titled "1,000-man mob attack police, set Germany's oldest church alight on New Year's Eve." The article claimed a mob gathered "around the flag of al-Qaida and Islamic State collaborators the Free Syrian Army" while chanting "Allahu akbar." The story also claimed people threw fireworks at families, children, and police, heavily suggesting Muslim migrants were the culprits, according to the Washington Post. It was a strange report considering police in Dortmund, where the events supposedly took place, say it was an "average to quiet" New Year's Eve. A local newspaper says Breitbart created its story by twisting and combining unrelated events in its coverage to create "fake news, hate, and propaganda." A firework started a small fire on netting covering some scaffolding on the church. The fire was put out in 12 minutes and caused no damage to the church, which is not Germany's oldest. The people gathering around the flag, which is used by various groups opposed to the Syrian government, were celebrating the cease-fire in that country, Deutsche Welle reports. "Allahu akbar" is common in Muslim celebrations and prayers. Police say two people threw a single firework each at the feet of police in separate incidents; one was a migrant, the other was German. German authorities are increasing warnings about fake news impacting the country's elections similarly to what happened in the US. (These were the 5 biggest fake news stories of 2016.)