Oops. We messed up.
You know that sinking feeling in your gut when you find out something is going very, very wrong and you don't know the exact consequences yet?
Yesterday we published a story on the newest EU sanctions package, with the headline 'EU bans sales of toilets to Russian on war anniversary'.
The story covered documents obtained by us, which listed items to be banned for export to Russia.
The main thrust of the sanctions was to "stop sales of high-tech items that can be used in Russian weapons systems." These included new electronics, lasers, radio equipment, software, avionics, marine cameras, and rare-earth minerals.
But among the list some more mundane articles also featured. Mundane as in,?"bidets, lavatory pans, flushing cisterns and similar sanitary ware", as well as LEDs, hemp yarn, fork-lift trucks, mail-sorting machines, chimney pots, bricks, tyres, and even "pen nibs and nib points".
Somewhat tickled by the ban of lavatory paraphernalia, we took this fact and ran with it.
Similarly tickled, the article was soon picked up by other news outlets and went somewhat viral on Reddit. Toilet jokes abounded.
Ukrainian news outlet European Pravda was one of the first covering our findings ––?leading with "European Union to ban supply of toilets to Russia". Yahoo News republished this article.
The Telegraph soon followed with "EU stops selling toilets to Russia as punishment for invading Ukraine", which was published around the same time as us finding out we were wrong. Dead wrong.
Export of toilets was first banned in an April 2022 sanctions package, with a few so-called 'derogations', which simply means exceptions for certain types of toilet or associated equipment.
Later in the year, some of these derogations were removed, with a complete ban following in October 2022.
The newest sanction package simply renewed the ban on toilets and related products.
By the time we realised our mistake, hundreds of thousands of people had read (at least) the headline we had put on the story. Hundreds of people were reading the story on our website.
"I have bad news on toilets, but not terrible"
Sinking feeling.
As a news publication our main currency is credibility. Where the content of an article are the small-denomination bills and loose change, the headline of an article is the 500 euro bill.
Handing out 500 euro bills that turn out to be false –– especially on a story that gains online traction with other publications –– can be disastrous.
It's basically our main task to make sure what we publish is demonstrably true. If we fail at that, even a single instance, if big enough of a mess-up on big enough of a story, can undermine credibility for ever.
We scrambled to issue a correction. I grovelled in front of the mods and users of the subreddit where the news was massively shared. We reached out to the journalists who covered our story.
Luckily, in this case, we weren't levelling incorrect accusations at anyone or anything. We didn't uncover a non-existent plot. We weren't duped into giving attention to propaganda. Toilets were actually banned for export, just not specifically in this sanctions package. It could have been worse.
Nonetheless, we wear the leaden cap of shame. I apologise to all who take pride in not sharing misinformation who shared this story, and will take any abuse you deem fit (read on for contact details).
In other shamefully under-covered news, MEPs adopted a resolution on Thursday, which called on the European Central Bank (ECB) to not only report what the effects of its actions are on price stability (i.e. inflation), but also the broader effect on society.
As Wester van Gaal writes, "every monetary choice — even efforts to reduce the inflation rate — inevitably benefits some at the expense of others. This makes monetary policy political."
The ECB is an independent institution, as it should be, but with this resolution, MEPs are asking it to become more accountable to society.
President of the ECB Christine Lagarde seemingly welcomed the (legally non-binding) resolution, saying, "The choices we make significantly affect society, so being accountable is a necessary counterweight to our independence. That means we need to explain our policies and be attentive to the public's concerns."
If the ECB adheres to the request, it may mean that politicians and civil society alike will have more insight into what drives the decisions for measures like interest rate hikes, and what the consequences on for example employment or the green transition will be.
Onwards to more stories you should not have missed this week:
Labour
Europe is responding to US green subsidies by unleashing green subsidies of its own. But the focus on industry and great power rivalry has overshadowed what the EU Commission itself has repeatedly said is central to the green transformation: people.
High licence fees, a lower minimum age, and poor working conditions mean not enough people are willing to drive buses and coaches in Europe.
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Rule of Law
MEPs are scrambling to declare trips paid by countries in the wake of a corruption scandal that has landed the parliament's former vice-president in pre-trial detention. Among them are two MEPs who had chaired the EU Qatar friendship group.
Far-right and conservative MEPs either opposed or abstained from a vote on setting up an independent ethics committee to weed out corruption across all major EU institutions.
EU ambassadors signed off — with qualified majority — on two decisions that would give the green light on EU ratification of the convention in areas where the EU has exclusive legal competence.
Feature
Most EU countries have outsourced visa-application processing for Kosovars to private companies. The results are long queues, expensive fees, loss of clarity over where personal data ends up — and often not even a visa.
Migration
Instead of building walls, European countries must devise systems that allow for more and decent work permits for people to come to work in Europe, across skills and sectors.
German ideas of possibly offshoring asylum to countries outside Europe are unworkable, say civil society. The comments follow reports that the German government is exploring options of getting north African states to process asylum claims of those rescued at sea.
Green Economy
The EU Commission published detailed rules defining hydrogen and when it can be counted as green, but experts slam reporting requirements on renewables as too weak, opening the door for increased fossil fuel burning.
As always, thank you to all new subscribers to this newsletter (almost 3000!), and also as always, my various inboxes are open for feedback, suggestions, tips, leaks, ideas and gossip –– now also?on Mastodon.
See you next week,
Communications
2 年Oof, brutal. We've all been there - courage!
Realtor Associate @ Next Trend Realty LLC | HAR REALTOR, IRS Tax Preparer
2 年Well Said.