A Dutch journalist confronted Michigan Congressman Pete Hoekstra, now U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands, about pedaling “fake news.”
The journalist, Wouter Zwart with current affairs program Nieuwsuur, asked Hoekstra why he said there are “no-go” areas in the Netherlands, where radical Muslims are setting cars and politicians on fire.
Hoekstra denied the statement, and called it “fake news.”
The reporter then showed Hoekstra a video clip of him in 2015 speaking at a conference in Charleston, South Carolina, where Hoekstra said: “The Islamic movement has now gotten to a point where they have put Europe into chaos. Chaos in the Netherlands, there are cars being burned, there are politicians that are being burned.”
“And yes, there are no-go zones in the Netherlands,” he added.
After watching the clip, Hoekstra clarified and said, he didn’t call his statements “fake news.” “I didn’t use the words today. I don’t think I did.”
@Nieuwsuur to new US ambassador: "You mentioned [..] that there are no go-zones in the Netherlands and that cars and politicians are set on fire."
Pete Hoekstra: "I didn't say that. That's actually an incorrect statement [..] fake news."
Hmm, let's have a look at the footage 🤔 pic.twitter.com/vlstN9vhSK
— Christiaan Triebert (@trbrtc) December 21, 2017
Hoekstra was born in the Netherlands and moved to the U.S. with his family when he was 3.
“No-go zone” is a term used by anti-Muslim activists to suggest areas where non-Muslims are not welcome.
In 2015, President of the Family Research Council Tony Perkins falsely claimed that Dearborn, Michigan had fallen into a no-go zone and was under Sharia Law.
