German intelligence: the death toll in Ukraine is 50 thousand

a reply to: naftaland

I'm sorry, but what was this thread about? Oh, yes, yes... "German intelligence: the death toll in Ukraine is 50 thousand". Isn't it interesting there is next to nothing mentioned about this Topic in this thread?

That is because nothing is known about the identity of the person who "leaked" this number or how it was derived. There is no evidence to support the claim, or even that the claim was actually made by a source with access to information not available to the public. There is literally nothing to discuss. It has exactly as much weight as a bigfoot story.

originally posted by: Xcathdra

Western media does call each other out.

True. At least that's how it's supposed to be.
Much too often the later corrections are drowned out, and the real information is lost in the spate of even more false-info. So much it sometimes seems like the remaining investigative journalism can hardly keep up.

But still...

originally posted by: Xcathdra
how about this -
Western media is the lesser of 2 evils.

I'd agree.
The lesser evil is just not enough for me.

I'm all about the free-world, but that freedom depends on independent information.
Over here the distrust in media (any media really) is peaking on a level unseen since the war - and for good reasons.

a reply to: DJW001

That's the problem.

If we knew the identity of the source he wouldn't have much of a career in BND anymore, and we can hardly blame whistleblowers for being cautious in this day and age.

Naturally there is more understanding about what is really going on in the world among the intel and military community. Naturally those are not free to just spill info without risking occupational (and personal) consequences.

The only weight to this claim is the reputation of the newspaper.
Judgement on this lies with the responsible reader / citizen.

a reply to: ColCurious

The only weight to this claim is the reputation of the newspaper.

Correct. The paper tends to skew right, which may be why the source (if legitimate) chose to leak there. This may be an attempt to undermine Merkel's pro-Union politics, or create a greater sense of urgency for intervention. In other words, not only is this number subject to question, the motivations of its source may have more to do with domestic German politics than any situation on the ground in Ukraine.

a reply to: DJW001

That is actually possible.
I doubt it, but you're raising fair points... we will learn the truth eventually.
I don't think the info would be more trustworthy if it was reported via a leftwing paper though.