The only newspaper in the Falkland/Malvinas Islands, the Penguin News, published a fake interview with Argentine Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman after the official refused to speak with the media, reported the newspaper La Nación.
After the first 10 questions, the English-language newspaper clarified that the interview's responses did not come from the foreign minister. "Sadly, but not surprisingly, Mr. Timerman did not himself supply this column's content, but following his example, we decided to make it up anyway," the newspaper said, according to the news website U Noticias.
A week before, the minister refused to meet with his British counterpart, William Hague, and inhabitants of the islands to discuss the sovereignty of the Falkland/Malvinas Islands, added La Nación.
Published in its section "Give us two minutes," the interview had an ironic, satirical tone, according to the website Minuto Uno. The fake interview portrayed Timerman as a liar and puppet of President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. It also mentioned the official's father, Jacob Tierman, who was kidnapped and tortured by the last military dictatorship, reported the website Infobae.
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
