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Tatar report is a term used in the press for a deliberately made or invented report.
etymology
In the Crimean War (1853 to 1856), which can be considered the first modern war, the medium of photography was only used to a limited extent because the cameras were still heavy and unwieldy. That is why camp life was shown above all.
At that time William Howard Russell reported for the London Times , who for lack of suitable news invented the story of the " Tatar courier". The courier had carried the message of the storming of Sevastopol and was intercepted. From this fictional report the term Tatar report emerged.
Differentiation from similar terms
By its nature, a Tatar report is also a newspaper duck , but this term also includes erroneously false reports.
In the English-speaking world (and increasingly also in German), the term " fake news " is also used for such false reports . However, the term Tatar report is also used for press reports that have a true core, but in which (individual) facts are exaggerated or manipulatively presented. A fake , on the other hand, always denotes a complete fake.
Footnotes
- ^ Rudolf Walther: Photography: Where pictures become weapons . In: The time . No. 49, November 30, 2006.