(CNN asks that you copy and e-mail this statement to whomever asks about it.)
There is absolutely no truth to the information that is now distributed on the Internet that CNN used 10-year-old video when showing the celebrating of some Palestinians in East Jerusalem after the terror attacks in the U.S. The video was shot that day by a Reuters camera crew. CNN is a client of Reuters and like other clients, received the video and broadcast it. Reuters officials have publicly made the facts clear as well.
The allegation is false. The source of the allegation has withdrawn it and apologized.
It was started by a Brazilian student who now says he immediately posted a correction
once he knew the information was not true. This is the statement by his university
-- UNICAMP -- Universidad Estatal de Campinas-Brasil.
Again, please read this -- and copy it -- and send it to anyone you know who may have the false information. Thank you.
OFFICIAL STATEMENT by Universidad de Campinas-Brasil
17/09/01
UNICAMP (Universidad Estatal de Campinas-Brasil) would like to announce that it has no knowledge of a videotape from 1991, whose images supposedly aired on CNN showing Palestinians celebrating the terrorist attacks in the U.S. The tape was supposedly from 1991, and there were rumors that the images were passed off as current.
This information was later denied, as soon as it proved false, by Márcio A. V. Carvalho, a student at UNICAMP. He approached the administration today, 17.09.2001, to clarify the following:
-- the information he got, verbally, was that a professor from another institution (not from UNICAMP) had the tape;
-- he sent the information to a discussion group e-mail list;
-- many people from this list were interested in the subject and requested more details;
-- he again contacted the person who first gave him the information and the person denied having the tape;
-- the student immediately sent out a note clarifying what happened to the people from his e-mail list.
The original message, however, was distributed all over the world, often with many distortions, including a falsified by-line article from the student. He affirms that a hacker attacked his domain. Several E-mails have been sent on his behalf and those dating from 15.09.2001 should be ignored.
Among the distortions is the fact that UNICAMP would be analyzing the tape, which is absolutely false. The administration considers this alert definitive and will be careful to avoid new rumors.