The claim
“After Rendi-Wagner, another difficult LUXURY GATE at the SPÖ: Of all people, the new SPÖ boss Babler in the extremely expensive LUXURY CLUB only for rich people, such recent revelations! Outrage down to “small” SPÖ members, according to media reports…”
Our conclusion
The research revealed that one of Babler's photos had actually been manipulated. The quotes circulating on social media were older and did not relate to the current situation.
In politics it often happens that images and statements are taken out of context or manipulated in order to promote certain narratives. The latest case is the Austrian SPÖ federal party leader Andreas Babler, whose vacation in Cyprus was the subject of misinformation and manipulation.
The context of SPÖ leader Andreas Babler's vacation
Last Saturday, Babler was almost unanimously re-elected as SPÖ leader at a party conference in Graz. Shortly afterwards, photos appeared on social media allegedly showing him in a luxury hotel in Cyprus. The images were seen as an indication of an allegedly luxurious lifestyle and caused a stir in the party and in the media. It's this picture:
Analysis of the images
Investigations revealed that one of the photos had been manipulated. The original photo shows Babler at a table in front of a stone wall, while the manipulated image shows him in front of a swimming pool at the 5-star Columbia Beach resort in Pissouri.
This manipulation was obviously done to give the appearance of a more exclusive vacation spot.
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The background image itself came from the platform “ Booking.com ”. This manipulation was obviously done to give the appearance of a more exclusive vacation spot.
Misinterpretation of quotes
The quotes from Rudi Fußi and Julia Herr circulating on the Internet, which are interpreted as criticism of Babler's lifestyle, are in fact older. Fussi's quote comes from 2019 and refers to another SPÖ politician, while Herr's statement was made August 2023 referred to another personality's yacht vacation. Both quotes have no direct connection to Babler's current vacation.
Conclusion:
This research clearly shows how easily information can be manipulated and misused to influence political narratives. In the case of Andreas Babler, both images and verbal statements were taken out of context or changed to convey a specific message. It is important that media consumers remain discerning and obtain information from reliable sources to avoid falling for such misinformation.
Source: dpa-factchecking.com
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Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )