BRUSSELS -- Belgians have reacted with alarm and outrage to a fake news broadcast declaring that the country was to split in two.
French-speaking public broadcaster RTBF interrupted its normal television programs Wednesday night with news that the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders had declared independence, and that the king had fled the country.
Millions of Belgians were taken in by the reports, which showed what appeared to be live pictures of cheering crowds waving the Flemish flag, huge traffic jams leading to the Brussels airport and trams stuck at what it said was now the new border. Several prominent politicians played along with the hoax, including the Speaker of the Chamber of Representatives Herman De Croo.
Only after half an hour did the show's producers indicate the broadcast was a hoax, putting the words "this is fiction" on the bottom of the screen. By this time, the RTBF had received thousands of phone calls from worried viewers.
French-speaking public broadcaster RTBF interrupted its normal television programs Wednesday night with news that the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders had declared independence, and that the king had fled the country.
Millions of Belgians were taken in by the reports, which showed what appeared to be live pictures of cheering crowds waving the Flemish flag, huge traffic jams leading to the Brussels airport and trams stuck at what it said was now the new border. Several prominent politicians played along with the hoax, including the Speaker of the Chamber of Representatives Herman De Croo.
Only after half an hour did the show's producers indicate the broadcast was a hoax, putting the words "this is fiction" on the bottom of the screen. By this time, the RTBF had received thousands of phone calls from worried viewers.
- 12/14/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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