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Waterford Whispers just fooled one of Germany’s biggest news magazines

Whoops!

YESTERDAY, IRELAND’S FINEST satire source Waterford Whispers published a story about a stampede in Lidl.

It described an incident at a store in Dunboyne, Co Meath in which “thirty people were injured” when a second checkout opened.

screencap7-108-605x500 Waterford Whispers Waterford Whispers

The story also featured quotes from fictional local woman “Sheila Mannion”…

who had spent the time leading up to the stampede bitching about how she only had a loaf of bread and should have been let go ahead of those with full trolleys

It’s pretty obviously satire.

However, it has now been reported with a straight face by respected German news weekly Focus.

screencap10-89-630x331 Focus Focus

(This headline translates roughly as “Because only one checkout was open… Unnerved customers cause mass panic in Lidl store”.)

The Focus report describes the incident as follows:

Customers in a Lidl store in Dunboyne, Ireland had been waiting for what felt like an eternity when finally a second cash register was opened. What happened next is almost unbelievable [...] a stampede occurred and more than 30 people were injured, as the “Waterford Whispers News” reports.

It includes quotes from “Sheila Mannion”, although it doesn’t mention her loaf of bread or her bitching.

robberies-in-dublin-630x420 Photocall Ireland Photocall Ireland

The article on the website of the magazine – whose main edition has a circulation of more than 500,000 copies, and is described on this corporate page as “the key medium of the cosmopolitan urban elite in Germany” - concludes:

This accident has again raised the pressure on Lidl to open more than one cash register during peak times in its stores.

Which, frankly, is a step down from the Waterford Whispers version:

This latest incident has brought fresh pressure on Lidl to open more than one checkout during rush hour; although the retail giants are unlikely to do so as this would cut down on the amount of staff available to push pallets of bottled water around the shop at all times.

It’s not the first time Waterford Whispers has seen ‘real’ news outlets fall for its stories. A 2014 article about North Korea claiming to have launched a rocket to the sun also went international.

Originally published by DailyEdge.ie 

Read: ‘They are looking for soft targets’: New whiskey maker hit with €500,000 Irish Water bill>

Read: No arrest made as couple engage in sex act in broad daylight>

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56 Comments
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    Mute Joanna
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    May 12th 2015, 2:11 PM

    Waterford Whispers is truly a national treasure at this stage.

    2970
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    Mute Shane Mc Quillan
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    May 12th 2015, 2:58 PM

    They’re better than some of the actual news stories most days!!

    711
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    Mute Eoin O'Neill
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    May 12th 2015, 10:14 PM

    I google translated a comment from the German article. It reads

    “so why markets like Real have installed 12 cash, but only 2 open, snakes up the rear. Until you finally through, is just a half thawed frozen in summer. One should let the cars are full and just go. Large signs at the net: from more than 5 clients in the queue is opened 2. Checkout, only the customer should then himself looking for the staff ….. Should I leave my car now stand and walk on the search? Why not watch the only cashier aside, how long is the queue and phone ran second force? Post the same, 5 switch, only 1 open and snake up on the road! Will you all do not or you are just too stupid ??”

    I know google translate doesn’t take all colloquialisms into account but either way it looks like a German person took this incident very very seriously! “Snakes up the rear”?

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    Mute RoseDeBu
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    May 12th 2015, 11:33 PM

    That really made me laugh! Trust Google translate to translate it so literally. Snake and queue are both “Schlange” in German, so yer man is lashing out about long queues. In fairness, Germany is famous for its long queues in supermarkets, driving the average poor efficiency-obsessed German soul absolutely bonkers!

    27
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    Mute InvasionNewsÉire
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    May 13th 2015, 1:00 AM

    And still the German newspaper manages to report with more accuracy, less propaganda than the journal.ie

    7
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    Mute Ben Redline
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    May 12th 2015, 2:10 PM

    Brilliant

    613
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    Mute stephen lane
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    May 12th 2015, 2:35 PM

    The only reason I realised this wasnt a true story is because we dont have a LiDL in Dunboyne.

    573
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    Mute Hermes
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    May 12th 2015, 2:50 PM

    what are you on about – isn’t there loads of them in Dublin – You gotta start thinking like Michael O’Leary to become a success dude !

    62
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    Mute Paddy O'Reilly
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    May 12th 2015, 2:55 PM

    Dunboyne is in Meath

    293
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    Mute Matt Connolly
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    May 12th 2015, 3:04 PM

    What? Don’t you realise it’s an unenumerated constitutional right to have a low-cost German supermarket within 5km of your home! I’m pretty sure it’s also stipulated in an article of the TFEU.

    94
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    Mute Matt Connolly
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    May 12th 2015, 3:21 PM

    looks like you had the same geography teacher as Michael O’Leary.

    95
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    Mute Oisin Murray
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    May 12th 2015, 3:42 PM

    How embarrassing Hermes!! Nearly as funny as WWN prank headline tho, well done!

    51
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    Mute Hermes
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    May 12th 2015, 4:07 PM

    Dunboyne is in Meath just as Charles Roi is in Paris …come along now people – Think !

    Paris Belgium or Switzerland or somewhere that is – get a bus !

    31
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    Mute Darach Malone
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    May 12th 2015, 6:50 PM

    I got you the first time Hermes. Well played.

    21
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    Mute Dave Harris
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    May 13th 2015, 12:04 AM

    i did a first aid course with work recently and the instructor told me thst ambulances used to ask for the nearest pub when figuring out where the emergency was located – now they ask for the nearest Lidl or Aldi

    5
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    Mute Dublin Living
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    May 13th 2015, 9:12 AM

    Nice try Hermes, that went way over people’s heads. I got it and laughed so there’s that.

    3
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    Mute justpassing
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    May 12th 2015, 2:13 PM

    The Germans think so highly of us!

    326
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    Mute Hermes
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    May 12th 2015, 2:48 PM

    Perhaps they lack the intelligence to understand Satire …
    You think the lads who brought the “Angela Thinks we’re working ” would have educated them a bit ..
    Just shows what types of eejits are working in the media !

    133
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    Mute Marty Friel
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    May 12th 2015, 3:02 PM

    if you took a minute to translate the article you’d know the paper knows it’s satirical, now who’s the eejit?

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    Mute DJ Dave Nice
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    May 12th 2015, 3:07 PM

    Oh dear!

    22
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    Mute Paul Debussy
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    May 12th 2015, 3:12 PM

    Marty, the Germans changed their article.

    52
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    Mute Marty Friel
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    May 12th 2015, 3:13 PM

    yeah it seems so.

    17
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    Mute Hermes
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    May 12th 2015, 4:11 PM

    Marty – just read that back to yourself when the ould noggin realises that the eejits in the media referred to is the German media that ran with the story !

    The “they” at the start of the sentence in my post is linked to the comment by justpassing ….
    Don’t worry dude – I do it all the time – pick it up and run with it – it’s part of the fun being completely wrong – It gives on an insight to the inner machinations of the minds of various Taoisigh and TDs that have graced the national stage for years …
    It makes me wonder of it is gross stupidity that is the common denominator among the Elite !

    8
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    Mute winding_down
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    May 12th 2015, 2:13 PM

    Loved their headline below a photo of that massive cruise liner which visited Dublin yesterday:

    “IONA Ship In Expat No Voters In Time For Referendum”

    275
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    Mute Joe
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    May 12th 2015, 2:31 PM

    Or the one “Large increase in people milking yes campaign to boost own social status” major LOL at that one.

    176
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    Mute Randle P McMurphy
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    May 12th 2015, 2:51 PM

    @winding down…there’ll be no need to ship in expats…uncommon sense will prevail in the ditches and backwaters of the fairest land of all…and homosexual unnatural acts will not be made sacrosanct thru’ Marriage.

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    Mute winding_down
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    May 12th 2015, 3:58 PM

    @Randle:

    We’re not voting on Matrimony.

    We’re voting in Civil Marriage.

    25
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    Mute fuve
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    May 12th 2015, 2:18 PM

    Waterford whispers are genius. Shows how journalists get their info these days. Internet or print what the elite tell them.

    151
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    Mute Diarmuid
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    May 12th 2015, 2:15 PM

    Excellent. WW joining the ranks of the Onion..

    107
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    Mute Diarmuid
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    May 12th 2015, 2:16 PM
    20
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    Mute Stef
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    May 12th 2015, 2:11 PM

    Lulz!

    86
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    Mute Stiofán De Priondárgas
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    May 12th 2015, 2:18 PM

    We live in a kinda world were some articles are so messed up you would think it would an article the Waterford whispers news would have … And then you would read an article on the WWN that you would expect would happen. Mind blown

    84
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    Mute John Doyle
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    May 12th 2015, 2:27 PM

    In all fairness they arent half wrong with the article. whats the point in having 6 express tills if only 1 or 2 staff are on them.

    75
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    Mute David Murphy
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    May 12th 2015, 2:25 PM

    They are absolutely world class those WWN folks.

    72
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    Mute Tony Le Blanc
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    May 12th 2015, 2:34 PM

    That good ol’ Germanic sense of humour eh?

    Isn’t this piece interesting: “the key medium of the cosmopolitan urban elite in Germany”

    49
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    Mute fockoffski
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    May 12th 2015, 4:19 PM

    The caption with the garda car outside just sets it off

    21
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    Mute Deco James Connolly
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    May 12th 2015, 10:28 PM

    I was standing in a queue of about ten customers in my local Lidl, I rang their office number and asked to speak to the manager , I was told he wasn’t available , I said yes he is I just passed him on the way to the checkout and would you tell him to open up the fu.king tills I’m pis.d off standing here .
    Two tills opened , smart phones and Google are deadly in a queue .

    21
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    Mute Simone Kelly
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    May 12th 2015, 4:25 PM

    http://www.nachrichten.de/wirtschaft/Weil-nur-eine-Kasse-geoeffnet-war-Entnervte-Kunden-verursachen-Massenpanik-in-Lidl-Filiale-aid_2948082559385726943.html

    Here’s a link to the previous version… For all the “but they knew it was satire” sayers. They didn’t.

    20
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    Mute Ann Glasgow
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    May 12th 2015, 3:17 PM

    excellent! but a reality….i find lidl and aldi amazing that will actually close checkouts even though people start to make their way to the checkout. you are then met by a disgruntled assistant who is annoyed with the customer!

    19
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    Mute Stephen Conneely
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    May 12th 2015, 2:35 PM

    No they didn’t. The German site knew it was satire.

    “Satire report on stampede in Lidl store thrilled the net”

    16
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    Mute O Swetenham
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    May 12th 2015, 2:40 PM

    They changed the article after they discovered the original story was satirical

    106
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    Mute David Beattie
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    May 12th 2015, 4:15 PM

    You wouldn’t believe “Aldi” people that actually fall for these stories. Very funny satire on wwn site. We all need a laugh every now and again.

    9
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    Mute Karsten Brueck
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    May 12th 2015, 3:32 PM

    Once a gain a glory moment for rock stupid journalism, first of all let me instead that Germans have more sense of humor as you think! Secondly if you like to pick on something find something funny and don’t mislead the truth.
    Already in the headline of the German Newspaper it is written that an Irish satire website picked upon Lidl for the same issue know to all German shoppers at that type of grocery chain. The ending of the article clearly states it once again and actually applauds the Waterford Whisperer for its writing and the fellowship it has created on social media.

    8
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    Mute Dave O'Hanlon
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    May 12th 2015, 8:54 PM

    Germans sound a little upset over this, Angelas gonna make Enda tax us for reading satire now.

    7
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    Mute Derry Seery
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    May 13th 2015, 2:04 AM

    As so many before me have pointed out, they changed the article when they found out it was satire.

    3
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    Mute Tony Murphy
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    May 12th 2015, 4:37 PM

    Haha, brilliant. I’ll bet the Germans still don’t get. Lidl or as I like to call it “I can’t believe it’s not food”

    7
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    Mute David McCormick
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    May 12th 2015, 7:53 PM

    The news reporting the news, reporting the news.

    7
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    Mute Manford Payce
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    May 12th 2015, 3:55 PM

    Outstanding stuff.

    6
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    Mute stephen
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    May 12th 2015, 5:26 PM

    Ahh man Waterford Whisper News, isn’t for real.

    4
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    Mute Larissa Nikolaus
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    May 12th 2015, 2:49 PM

    Shoddy reporting, the article on focus.de clearly states that WWN is a satire website and that the whole story was invented.

    4
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    Mute Muireann Murphy
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    May 12th 2015, 2:55 PM

    Nope, focus.de changed the article after they realised – follow the link now, and i’ts different to what it has in the above image.

    61
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    Mute Marty Friel
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    May 12th 2015, 3:00 PM

    If you translate Focus’s news report you can clearly see they know WWN and the article are satirical

    2
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    Mute Kate Stapleton
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    May 12th 2015, 3:12 PM

    It’s actually been pointed out that that was a correction after they realised what WWN actually is!

    61
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    Mute lizzy
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    May 12th 2015, 4:45 PM

    Pointed out repeatedly !!!

    31
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    Mute AngieW114
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    May 13th 2015, 12:17 AM

    Well.. it’s Focus. They’re known for their non-existing journalism, dumba$ses work there. :D

    1
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    Mute Shane Diffley
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    May 12th 2015, 10:42 PM

    I wonder when will that paper find out the truth about wwn. Gas it went viral. Love wwn

    1
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