Trying to find the original report on that chemical spill in the river took me three days

I saw a short clip on a social media feed about a big chemical spill into the River Meuse in Belgium, but when I went to look for the full story from a major news outlet, it was gone. I spent about three days digging through local Belgian forums and using different search engines. I finally found a detailed article on a small regional newspaper's site that had been up for only a few hours before it disappeared. The local government had issued a minimal statement, but the paper's report had interviews with fishermen who saw the whole thing. Has anyone else had to piece together a story like this from fragments that keep getting taken down?

2 comments

2 Comments

burns.ruby1mo ago

Ever wonder who exactly is asking for those articles to be taken down? Was it a company lawyer, a government press office, or just an overeager social media mod? The fishermen's interviews are key, they're the kind of firsthand proof that gets memory-holed first. Makes you question what else we only hear about because someone local managed to get the words out before the delete button got hit.

brookep621mo ago

Exactly, that delete button is way too quick these days.