At the beginning of November 2023, reports appeared on social networks about an attack on a woman of the Jewish faith in Lyon, France. It was alleged that a swastika was drawn on the door of her apartment, and a corresponding photo was provided. We decided to check the authenticity of this story and photo.
On November 4, news spread on Telegram channels about an attack on a 30-year-old resident of Lyon. It was alleged that an unknown person stabbed her several times on the threshold of her own apartment. The victim is a member of the Jewish community, and the attacker painted a swastika on her door. This news, along with a photograph of the Nazi symbol, was published by such Telegram channels as “Ax Live"(833,000 views at the time of writing this analysis), "Nevzorov"(580,000), AZfront (118,000) and "Israeli workdays"(78,000).
The attack on a woman in Lyon became known on the evening of November 4. The Lyon publication was the first to report this. Le Progrès. The woman told police that an unknown person called her at her apartment, and after she opened the door, he stabbed her twice and fled. The wounds were not fatal, and the woman was discharged from the hospital the next day. Home version of what happened - an attack of an anti-Semitic nature. Both the police and the victim’s lawyer agree on this. A resident of Lyon is Jewish, a member of the Jewish community. There was a pin on her door mezuzah - a traditional scroll with a prayer that protects the home. And after the attack, police found a swastika painted on the door. By that time, according to the French Ministry of Internal Affairs, the country had more than a thousand recorded anti-Semitic attacks and attacks that followed the worsening situation in the Middle East.
However, a photograph of the Nazi symbol on the door of an apartment in Lyon could not be found in the French media. A reverse Google image search reveals a link to a 2017 incident in the United States with this exact photo. In late January, Lapeer, Michigan, attorney Erin Zettle discovered a black swastika on the door of her home. This was written about first local media, then international ones. For example, the incident on February 3 was reported by the London The Telegraph.
But this did not stop the same The Telegraph on November 4, 2023 from illustrating its news item about the attack in Lyon with a photo from 2017.
The British newspaper identified the author of the photo not as a lawyer from Michigan, but as an account on the social network X (formerly Twitter) @vysegrad24. Apparently the photo was taken from post, who appeared on the evening of the attack in Lyon. Most likely, the photo editor, without checking it, took the first available source for publication.
Thus, the story about the attack on the woman in Lyon, as well as about the swastika on her door, is true. But at the same time, many media and Internet users accompany her with a photo from 2017, which has nothing to do with either France or the recent attack.
Cover photo: social networks
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