The miniscule number of Political Correctness Gone Mad stories that turn out to have a grain of truth in them are almost all influenced by this sort of reporting too. A while ago, a children’s book about pigs wasn’t shortlisted for an award, in part because Muslims wouldn’t like stories about pigs. Of course, that’s rubbish, but why would anyone think Muslims would be offended by stories about piggy characters in the first place? Because of stories like this one. And why would anyone think that a bus driver terminating a journey because he’s been told to and then praying because it’s his break has actually thrown everyone off so he could pray? Because of stories like this one.

Five Chinese Crackers