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Romania hardcore trolls journalist for allegedly faking report on arms sales

Social media backlash can be brutal.

Lindsay Davis

on August 11, 2016

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

LONDON -- Sky News Chief Correspondent Stuart Ramsay has been accused of falsifying the circumstances of a report on underground arms sales in Romania.

Sky News conducted an investigation into the sale of military grade weapons by Eastern European mafia gangs, who purportedly will supply to anyone with adequate funds. Ramsay and a team of Sky associates allegedly negotiated a rendezvous with a gang in a remote location near the Ukrainian border, a meeting which they captured on camera. The segment highlights the security risks in light of the string of recent terror attacks across Europe.

In response to the broadcast, Romania's anti-corruption unit claimed the segment was “a scenario made up by British journalists.” Local media outlets are reporting that Ramsay paid the individuals featured in the video to act as traffickers, and The Guardian reports that a man called Aurelian Szanto claims to have been tricked into appearing in the video, believing it to be a dramatized reenactment.

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Sky News and Stuart Ramsay stand by the report. In response to Mashable's request for a statement, a Sky News spokeswoman said: "Stuart Ramsay is one of our most experienced and tenacious journalists with a long history of delivering major stories from around the world. He's delivered a robust report on gun dealing in Romania and Sky News fully stands by the story."

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