CNN statement about false claim it used old video
Brazilian university statement says no fact to original claim
September 20, 2001 Posted: 4:02 PM EDT (2002 GMT)
(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 The source of the allegation has withdrawn it and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.
