As expected – and feared – during the annual “Day of the Sun” celebration
parade (celebrating the birth of the nation’s founder),
Bloomberg blasted a headline that Chinese news agency Xinhua reported
that North Korea has fired a projectile.
- NORTH KOREA FIRES PROJECTILE, MEDIA SAYS: XINHUA
On its website, Bloomberg immediately picked up the story, and ran with “North
Korea Fires Projectile Media, Says Xinhua” (at a url which still reads: “https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-15/north-korea-fires-projectile-media-says-xinhua“)
However, it appears that the headline scanning algos made a collosal
error, and that Xinhua interpreted events quite incorrectly as it was, as
CBC and Reuters reports, the appearance of a new
submarine-launched missile at the parade for the first time:
- NORTH KOREA SUBMARINE-LAUNCHED BALLISTIC MISSILE
SEEN AT MILITARY PARADE FOR FIRST TIME: RTRS
North Korea displayed its submarine-launched ballistic missiles
(SLBM) for the first time on Saturday ahead of a massive military parade
in the capital, Pyongyang.
State TV showed images of the Pukkuksong-2 SLBMs on trucks waiting to be
paraded in front of leader Kim Jong-un.
Immediately after, Xinhua
– and Bloomberg – rushed to issue a clarification to avoid what may be a
military confrontation.
- XINHUA CLARIFIES HEADLINE ON NORTH KOREAN MISSILE
- N.KOREA DISPLAYS BALLISTIC MISSILE AT MILITARY
PARADE: XINHUA
As a result, the BBG headline – with a URL that still says that “North
Korea fires a projectile” – now reads the following:
And that’s how World War 3 almost occurred.
As
CNN reports, a military parade in the heart of Pyongyang is underway
where it’s expected the North Korean regime will show off some of its latest
arsenal. Pictures on state television showed thousands of soldiers marching
in formation alongside tanks, balloons and enormous crowds. Leader
Kim Jong Un was shown clapping and smiling from a reviewing box.
At one point, the soldiers directed a chant toward him. “We will die for
you!” they yelled, CNN’s Will Ripley, who was at the event, reported. For
North Koreans, April 15 is an auspicious date that sees millions celebrate
the birth of the nation’s founder.
