Rumors about asylum seekers are increasingly being put into the world and spread virally in the last few years. The Hoaxmap was born out of the desire to bring order to the multitude of scattered rumors and to facilitate the deconstruction of the same. All “resolutions” are taken from established media and linked. If no date is listed for the respective incident, the date of the article was taken. In the few cases where no specific location was given, the capital of the county or state was taken.
Some rumors that do not directly relate to asylum seekers also appear in the collection. First, some cases with rumors about people with “southern appearance” or “non-German accent” were included. These types of descriptions are currently frequently associated with refugees. On the other hand, alleged crimes or repressive measures against participants of racist demonstrations are also listed. These were included because they also reinforce the narrative of opinion suppression and the worldview of the rumor-mongers.
