# Please help me debunk that Muslims laughed and cheered as the Notre Dame Cathedral burned **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 17, 2019, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-debunk-that-muslims-laughed-and-cheered-as-the-notre-dame-cathedral-burned/832650 "2019-04-17T00:03:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2019, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-debunk-that-muslims-laughed-and-cheered-as-the-notre-dame-cathedral-burned/832650/21 "2019-04-17T04:05:43Z")
I can’t prove something didn’t happen. Especially when I don’t give a fuck. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2019, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-debunk-that-muslims-laughed-and-cheered-as-the-notre-dame-cathedral-burned/832650/22 "2019-04-17T04:13:36Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I’m seeing this on Facebook. Please tell me this didn’t happen, because I seriously don’t believe it. It didn’t happen. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2019, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-debunk-that-muslims-laughed-and-cheered-as-the-notre-dame-cathedral-burned/832650/23 "2019-04-17T04:20:09Z")
Politifact addresses one hoaxed photo of “Muslims laughing as Notre Dame burns” here: [https://www.politifact.com/facebook-fact-checks/statements/2019/apr/16/viral-image/photo-muslims-laughing-front-notre-dame-doctored/](https://www.politifact.com/facebook-fact-checks/statements/2019/apr/16/viral-image/photo-muslims-laughing-front-notre-dame-doctored/) Short answer: people with more expertise than me say its Photoshopped. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2019, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-debunk-that-muslims-laughed-and-cheered-as-the-notre-dame-cathedral-burned/832650/24 "2019-04-17T05:28:23Z")
> [@Defensive\_Indifference](#): > > Politifact addresses one hoaxed photo of “Muslims laughing as Notre Dame burns” here: [https://www.politifact.com/facebook-fact-checks/statements/2019/apr/16/viral-image/photo-muslims-laughing-front-notre-dame-doctored/](https://www.politifact.com/facebook-fact-checks/statements/2019/apr/16/viral-image/photo-muslims-laughing-front-notre-dame-doctored/) > > Short answer: people with more expertise than me say its Photoshopped. That’s the picture being circulated. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2019, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-debunk-that-muslims-laughed-and-cheered-as-the-notre-dame-cathedral-burned/832650/25 "2019-04-17T05:30:35Z")
As an aside, I’m completely baffled by the morons (in the US or homegrown) who think for even a second that it was a terrorist act. Do these geniuses think that if people had done this on purpose (either a terrorist group, or even just a lone firebug), they would have waited even a picosecond before bragging about it either on social media or straight at the news ?! FFS. There’s no such thing as “secret terrorism”, that defeats the whole fucking purpose by fucking definition. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2019, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-debunk-that-muslims-laughed-and-cheered-as-the-notre-dame-cathedral-burned/832650/26 "2019-04-17T06:44:15Z")
I simply unfriended anyone who posted that kind of shit. Eventually I got sick of Facebook. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2019, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-debunk-that-muslims-laughed-and-cheered-as-the-notre-dame-cathedral-burned/832650/27 "2019-04-17T07:16:01Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > As an aside, I’m completely baffled by the morons (in the US or homegrown) who think for even a second that it was a terrorist act. Do these geniuses think that if people had done this on purpose (either a terrorist group, or even just a lone firebug), they would have waited even a picosecond before bragging about it either on social media or straight at the news ?! FFS. There’s no such thing as “secret terrorism”, that defeats the whole fucking purpose by fucking definition. That and they most likely would’ve done so when people were there, I’m guessing. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2019, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-debunk-that-muslims-laughed-and-cheered-as-the-notre-dame-cathedral-burned/832650/28 "2019-04-17T08:51:09Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > I simply unfriended anyone who posted that kind of shit. Eventually I got sick of Facebook. This ^ ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2019, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-debunk-that-muslims-laughed-and-cheered-as-the-notre-dame-cathedral-burned/832650/29 "2019-04-17T09:31:51Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > I simply unfriended anyone who posted that kind of shit. Eventually I got sick of Facebook. Agreed (hell, I never even got on Facebook to begin with), but that’s regrettably part of the problem. This shit spreads and persists because eventually the people who spread this shit are only in contact with people who spread this kind of shit - and there are no competing voices, no opprobrium, no dissent and no correction. So it builds up, until e.g. Trump seems reasonable. This fuckery _should_ be opposed and addressed. Just, you know, not by me. I get exhausted just \*thinking \*about the tide of hateful stupidity sweeping the world. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2019, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-debunk-that-muslims-laughed-and-cheered-as-the-notre-dame-cathedral-burned/832650/30 "2019-04-17T09:48:00Z")
Haven’t seen this yet, although I’ve seen the “Catholics aren’t real Christians” crowd chime in already with their “Hooray! An idol factory burned down!” bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2019, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-debunk-that-muslims-laughed-and-cheered-as-the-notre-dame-cathedral-burned/832650/31 "2019-04-17T09:49:30Z")
Last week I saw a muslim guy drop his wallet in the street so I rushed to pick it up and return it to him. He thanked me and then warned me to stay away from Paris. I was shocked and asked him if there was going to be a terrorist attack. He said no, it just gets really overcrowded this time of year and the waiters are rude. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2019, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-debunk-that-muslims-laughed-and-cheered-as-the-notre-dame-cathedral-burned/832650/32 "2019-04-17T10:10:04Z")
> [@JacobSwan](#): > > Last week I saw a muslim guy drop his wallet in the street so I rushed to pick it up and return it to him. He thanked me and then warned me to stay away from Paris. I was shocked and asked him if there was going to be a terrorist attack. He said no, it just gets really overcrowded this time of year and the waiters are rude. Racist nonsense. I’ve had nothing but excellent service from Parisian waiters. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2019, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-debunk-that-muslims-laughed-and-cheered-as-the-notre-dame-cathedral-burned/832650/33 "2019-04-17T10:12:50Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Racist nonsense. I’ve had nothing but excellent service from Parisian waiters. OK, now \*that \*is bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2019, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-debunk-that-muslims-laughed-and-cheered-as-the-notre-dame-cathedral-burned/832650/34 "2019-04-17T10:22:44Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I’m seeing this on Facebook. Please tell me this didn’t happen, because I seriously don’t believe it. If you’re seeing that on Facebook, then “unfriend” is what you’re looking for, not “debunk”. IMO. Life is short, cut those bastards loose. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2019, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-debunk-that-muslims-laughed-and-cheered-as-the-notre-dame-cathedral-burned/832650/35 "2019-04-17T10:54:04Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > OK, now \*that \*is bullshit. Hey, c’mon, maybe he only stopped at one place and the waiter was newly arrived! ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2019, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-debunk-that-muslims-laughed-and-cheered-as-the-notre-dame-cathedral-burned/832650/36 "2019-04-17T11:16:54Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > OK, now \*that \*is bullshit. Maybe a little. But nonetheless, it is true that I have had some excellent service in Paris from professional waiters. The trick is to stay away from the tourist restaurants, be courteous to the waiters first, and don’t burn down any major cathedrals while in town. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2019, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-debunk-that-muslims-laughed-and-cheered-as-the-notre-dame-cathedral-burned/832650/37 "2019-04-17T11:23:31Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Racist nonsense. I’ve had nothing but excellent service from Parisian waiters. > [@Kobal2](#): > > OK, now \*that \*is bullshit. > [@Gyrate](#): > > Maybe a little. But nonetheless, it is true that I have had some excellent service in Paris from professional waiters. The trick is to stay away from the tourist restaurants, be courteous to the waiters first, and don’t burn down any major cathedrals while in town. When I was in Paris, I didn’t experience any rudeness from service people. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2019, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-debunk-that-muslims-laughed-and-cheered-as-the-notre-dame-cathedral-burned/832650/38 "2019-04-17T11:41:36Z")
> [@JacobSwan](#): > > Last week I saw a muslim guy drop his wallet in the street so I rushed to pick it up and return it to him. He thanked me and then warned me to stay away from Paris. I was shocked and asked him if there was going to be a terrorist attack. He said no, it just gets really overcrowded this time of year and the waiters are rude. 😃 touché. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2019, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-debunk-that-muslims-laughed-and-cheered-as-the-notre-dame-cathedral-burned/832650/39 "2019-04-17T12:49:28Z")
I saw on the news that Michelle Obama was on a tour boat on the Seine at the time of the fire. I’ve been wondering how long it will be before the conspiracy theorists start spinning a story about how it is proof that it must be Obama’s fault. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2019, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-debunk-that-muslims-laughed-and-cheered-as-the-notre-dame-cathedral-burned/832650/40 "2019-04-17T13:00:20Z")
You cannot reason with Facebook memes. Those who post them simply don’t care about truth. Which is why we will see every year a post about Mars about to appear as large as the moon, about why yesterday was the “42 anniversary of the Vietnam war” (sic) and no mention anywhere, or a list of soldiers who died “last week” in Afghanistan and no mention in the media (actually more like 9 years ago). Truth does not matter. If a meme appeals to what they believe is true, they hit the share button. Even if it’s something they shared five years ago. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-debunk-that-muslims-laughed-and-cheered-as-the-notre-dame-cathedral-burned/832650.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-debunk-that-muslims-laughed-and-cheered-as-the-notre-dame-cathedral-burned/832650.md?page=3)