“Sharp objects were found”

And so the incompetent hacks (unless, worse, they’re doing it on purpose) roll up to spread the malevolent lies. A “trainee community reporter” in the South Wales Argus:

GWENT Police have issued a plea to people in Newport to not remove any posters they see in the city – after sharp objects were found behind some.

No they weren’t. Someone claimed they were, and the police took the claim seriously, or pretended to.

The warning comes as a 53-year-old woman was arrested on Sunday, January 23 after being caught spraying stickers to two lampposts by patrolling police officers.

Lampposts that, as I understand it, are already covered in stickers. (Also you can’t “spray” them. The police said they were “sprayed” and trainee reporter simply repeated the nonsense.)

Superintendent Vicki Townsend said that the force had been receiving complaints about offensive posters since October and that on a search of the woman’s home, more stickers and posters were found.

We’re supposed to conclude that the stickers and posters that “were found” are offensive or worse, but it’s merely insinuated, so that the reporter and the paper can wriggle out of any libel accusations. It’s utterly disgusting reporting.

The nature of the posters has not been disclosed.

Then don’t insinuate that they were somehow evil.

The woman was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and displaying threatening or abusive writing likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress.

Except that second “on suspicion” is completely bogus. We’ve seen the posters in question and they don’t contain “threatening or abusive writing.” This stupid (at best, malicious at worst) trainee reporter is doing her best to malign Jennifer Swayne by repeating the police lies.

Superintendent Townsend said: “We’ve received several reports in relation to posters containing offensive material appearing in Newport between October and January.”

She continued: “We published a post on one of our Twitter accounts on Friday 21 January, asking the public to not remove posters, including those containing offensive material, in the city after sharp objects had been found behind them.”

Except they weren’t found. Were they? Has that changed? Have the police said “Yes we ourselves found sharp objects behind them?” Last I heard they hadn’t, they were simply sharing what someone told them, the someone quite possibly being that one goon who has been Twitter-bragging about spreading this bullshit.

The trainee reporter a couple of hours ago:

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