The Express is Britain's second-worst newspaper, and prints any old crap. Seriously, it prints lies, sometimes deliberately and sometimes
because it doesn't check stuff - and in journalism, that's often the same thing. Not only that, but the paper makes no bones about the fact that it is
anti-Europe. So, a biased bottom-of-the-barrel tabloid with a poor reputation for accuracy. Not looking promising for this story, is it?
Unfair? OK, let's get specific.
When you eventually track down the Express's source for this story (via the embedded links in the article linked in the OP) you find that the source
is called "Speisa.se". As the domain indicates, it's a Swedish-language site. This, perhaps conveniently, means the source for the Express's story
will be unfamiliar to UK readers.
Speisa.se is
listed on this Swedish viral-checker website as - SURPRISE! -
an outlet that publishes outright lies.
Description (via Google translation):
[Speisa.se is a] conspiratorial blog, as with headlines like "A former CIA agent on his deathbed reveals what he knows about UFO's and aliens"
and "Could the Bilderberg Group pray behind the Ebola outbreak?" Sets a sensation legalistic tone.
Feeling encouraged yet?
Here is a detailed takedown (Swedish language) of a
Speisa.se story which claimed that Sweden was suffering from so much immigration that it would be designated as a "developing country" by the year
2030. This pack of lies was published by Speisa in 2010, and (according to the viral-checkers) was still being passed around as though it was true
four years later (in 2014).
So, funnily enough, the 2010 story is a bit like the one we're discussing, which was published in September 2016 and still being discussed nine months
later.
Let's weigh up what we've learned so far, shall we.
On the one hand, perhaps Speisa.se is a reliable source and was telling the truth in the case of the story that started this thread. And perhaps the
Express diligently checked its sources, verified the necessary facts, and made a well-informed and completely sincere editorial decision to inform its
readers of what it had learned. And perhaps every serious news source on the planet apart from Speisa.se and the Express decided to censor or ignore
this important story.
On the other hand...
You be the judge.