Hogwarts: I'm Harry's older cousin

Chapter 284, page 282: Who reads the Daily Prophet anyway?

An obscure newspaper—the Daily of Poisons and Antidotes—suddenly appeared.

This newspaper claims to have firsthand information about the three-way battle and that it has received official authorization from the organizers.

Following this, the witch and Poison Publishing House, along with Jerry and many other authors and masters, recommended the newspaper to their readers and fans. Furthermore, many directors and high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Magic affirmed the newspaper's accuracy and reliability.

A blatant and public endorsement.

After this propaganda offensive, many wizards seeking the truth bought the daily reports on poisons and antidotes, thus learning what had happened.

This alerted the Daily Prophet to a dangerous situation, but unfortunately, they were already preoccupied with their own problems. A notice of complaint from Wizengamo shattered the last glimmer of hope for editor-in-chief Barnabas Goughfe.

The Ministry of Magic has accused the Daily Prophet of fabricating and widely reporting false information about a three-way power struggle without authorization, causing significant negative impact. Meanwhile, Daily Prophet reporter Rita Skeeter has repeatedly fabricated false information, severely infringing upon the rights of many wizards. These wizards have now jointly sued Rita Skeeter and the Daily Prophet in Wizengamor, and both cases will be heard next Monday.

If convicted of multiple crimes, Rita Skeeter will face more than just the crime of spreading rumors; she will at the very least face imprisonment in Azkaban. Perhaps she will even meet another former celebrity, Lockhart, in prison.

As for the Daily Prophet, although it won't be shut down, it will certainly have to bear corresponding joint liability due to improper supervision and pay a lot of Galleons in exchange for forgiveness—a financial loss to avoid further trouble.

"I am innocent! I did not fabricate any false information! You have no evidence!"

On Monday in the Wissengamo court, Rita Skeeter protested loudly, saying it was her only chance and she absolutely could not let herself be convicted.

In response to Rita Skeeter's protest, the plaintiff's representative from the Ministry of Magic simply pulled out a quill pen: "Ms. Rita Skeeter, do you remember this quill pen? It's the one you used often; you must have used it to record a lot of things."

"By the way, would you like to take a look at this?"

The plaintiff's representative from the Ministry of Magic presented another piece of evidence, including both visual and audio footage—scenes that Rita Skeeter had fabricated.

How is that possible?!

They actually managed to bring out something like this?

Rita Skeeter's eyes widened like a toad in heat.

"These are just some of the pieces of evidence we have."

The plaintiff's representative from the Ministry of Magic approached Rita Skeeter, and a soft, whispering voice reached her ears.

"Ladybug, the illegal Animagus, I still have footage of your transformation here."

"boom"

Rita Skeeter felt a sudden dizziness, and her body went limp as she slumped into the chair, utterly exhausted.

This was my biggest secret, and it had been discovered.

She knew she was doomed.

Leaving aside the charges of maliciously fabricating and spreading false information, the mere fact that she is an illegal Animagus is enough to give her a hard time.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of one of the people sitting in the judge's dock.

A familiar, tall figure.

It was Dudley, who was dressed in the attire of a Wizengamo member, looking down at Rita Skeeter with a half-smile.

Her eyes seemed to say, "I told you we would meet in Wizengamo, Ms. Rita Skeeter."

What followed was much simpler. Because of the trial at Wizengamot, the Daily Prophet was forced to suspend updates, resulting in a sharp drop in its approval ratings and a complete collapse of its image among many wizards.

The Daily Poisons & Antidotes perfectly seized this opportunity, frantically grabbing market share while the Daily Prophet was away. Combining the Wizarding Card Techniques and the new book serialization by Jerry, it achieved the Daily Prophet's usual sales volume in just a few days.

It won't be long before it replaces the Daily Prophet's position.

Soon, Rita Skeeter's verdict came down. As expected, she faced a ten-year prison sentence in Azkaban, and was required to compensate the wizards she had maliciously defamed for their emotional distress. All of her assets would be auctioned off to pay off her debts.

If she hadn't been driven mad by the Dementors in Azkaban, she could have been released after ten years.

If someone were to analyze these events one by one, they would discover that an unseen force was manipulating everything, escalating the situation step by step and pushing the level of attention to its peak.

This is clearly a publicity stunt.

She slapped Rita Skeeter to death, crippled the Daily Prophet, and also made the Daily Poison and Antidote famous.

In today's European wizarding world, who dares to say they don't know the Daily Poisons and Antidotes?

After this incident, The Daily Prophet, while not completely unable to recover, has suffered a severe blow. Once credibility and public support are lost, regaining them requires not only a long time but also a thousand times more effort.

"Who reads the Daily Prophet anymore?" has become the most popular saying these days.

Those who manipulate public opinion will eventually face consequences.

For Dudley, who was studying at Hogwarts, this was just a very minor incident.

He never took Rita Skeeter seriously; all he wanted was the Daily Prophet. Dealing with a reporter who liked to spread rumors was too easy. This time, he didn't even have to lift a finger; he just revealed a little information, and the wizards she had slandered took the initiative to unite and suppress her completely.

We must firmly control what is like newspapers, which reflect and guide public opinion.

If the Daily Prophet hadn't deliberately provoked itself, it would have been swallowed up sooner or later anyway. It was part of Dudley's plan all along, and Rita Skeeter's actions only accelerated the process.

There is still one week until the first match of the three-way battle.

The three school warriors knew nothing about the test content and were naturally unprepared.

But don't worry, cheating is a tradition that has been passed down through the ages in the Triwizard Tournament.

Karkaroff and Ms. Maxim used all their connections to obtain the questions for the first competition and reveal them to their hero.

On Hogwarts' side, Hagrid told them the information, or rather, "told" is not the right word; he essentially gave them a live broadcast.

The first test in the Triwizard Tournament was about—the dragon.

Each of the four enormous iron cages contained an adult fire dragon.

(End of this chapter)