Original article (in Serbian) was published on 28/03/2022
This month, one of the most frequent topics in Serbian tabloids was the alleged shortage of basic food in the countries of the European Union. In addition to headlines such as “shoot yourself – general chaos in Europe due to sanctions against the Russian Federation”, there would usually be a text entitled “Serbia’s shelves are full, there is enough of everything”.
Using photographs from several European countries, the tabloids tried to convey to their readers that the shelves are empty in Europe, and that the fuel is kept by the police. However, these photos were often outdated or attributed to the wrong location. FN Tragac already wrote about this in mid-month, but the media continued to report on this topic in the same manner.
Although Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has really disrupted the energy and goods market, and food prices are really rising, potential shortages that would lead to mass starvation would first be faced by countries in North Africa, Asia and the Middle East, the Food Agency warned. As for the situation in Europe, the media report on the so-called “panic shopping”, similar to the one from the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. In fact, domestic tabloids used most of the photographs from that period to illustrate the “shortages” due to the war in Ukraine.
Italy
Inadequate illustrations of food shortages in Europe most often appeared when reporting on the situation in Italy. While the Italian television RAI reports that “there will be no empty shelves” in the country, Informer in its printed edition (March 14) states that “the EU is in chaos due to its sanctions” and illustrates this with a photo of empty shelves, along with the text: “ITALY – shortage of flour and sugar in Naples”. However, this photo was not taken in Naples, but in Milan, two years ago, at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
Vecernje novosti was somewhat more moderate, announcing on March 22 that “panic shopping and price increases are affecting Europe”, while “our shelves are full”. However, the photo of empty shelves with the description “RAVAGED – shelves in one of the Italian stores” is not a consequence of current price increases and price inflation. It did originate in Italy, in the town of Rozzano near Milan, but it was taken more than two years ago – at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. The photo was taken by the photographer of the Associated Press agency, Antonio Calani, and it is available on the AP’s website.
Last Thursday, another outdated photo from Italy appeared in the print edition of Informer. It should illustrate the “flour shortage” due to the “general chaos in Europe” caused by the war in Ukraine. However, this is another photo taken at the beginning of the pandemic, which appeared in the Italian media (1, 2, 3) about two years ago to illustrate “panic shopping” back then.
Germany
The same print edition of Informer also published a photo from Germany, which shows several police officers standing at a gas station. “GERMANY – the police guard the pumps from fuel thieves”, stated Informer in a description. However, this is a photo taken after the robbery of the pump in July last year and which was reported by the German media at the time (1, 2).
The Netherlands?
On Thursday, Informer published “THE NETHERLANDS – sugar shortage”, in the description of the photo, which shows an older woman looking at – as it turns out – the remaining cartons of milk. Although this photo is current, it does not illustrate the “sugar shortages” in the Netherlands. It shows the interior of a supermarket in Madrid, where truck drivers have been protesting for several days due to rising fuel prices, leading to disrupted food supplies in some supermarket chains. The photo was taken by the photographer of the French news agency AFP, Oscar del Pozo, and it can be found in the photo database of this agency.
