Bishop of Rottenburg under fire for denying false accusations in media reports
In a surprising turn of events, it has been confirmed that the recent rumours circulating about the death of German Cardinal Walter Kasper were false. The false report, which was initially alleged to have originated from Klaus Krämer, bishop of the diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart, was later found to be a hoax.
The imposter account that spread the fake news was earlier used by Krämer's predecessor, Gebhard Fürst. However, it is important to note that Krämer himself did not post the false report, and he is not associated with the news service X where the hoax was initially published. The account on X, which impersonated Bishop Krämer, was only registered the day before the false report was circulated.
The diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart and the Catholic News Agency were informed about the false report on Tuesday. The diocese subsequently confirmed that Cardinal Walter Kasper is not dead. The account used to spread the false news has since been deleted.
Tommaso Debenedetti, an individual known for pranks involving false news, admitted to being behind the hoax about Cardinal Walter Kasper's death. Debenedetti had previously spread a rumour about the alleged death of Nobel laureate Elfriede Jelinek.
The radicalization of Twitter, leading to an increase in misinformation, is a concern for Bishop Krämer. He attributes this to Elon Musk's takeover of the platform. While the impact of Musk's leadership on the platform's misinformation issues is still a topic of discussion, it is clear that the incident involving Cardinal Walter Kasper's death serves as a reminder of the need for vigilance and accuracy in the dissemination of news.
