have shamelessly fallen his subjects, and thus has not only blackened his own reputation.
He has also done great damage on its own so far, high-impact media.
And he also, unfortunately, has made it easier for of this world the Trump-types to get through with the message that the press is fake news and the people’s enemy.
the Reporter Claas Relotius has worked as both a freelancer and within tenured editor of Der Spiegel. Since 2011, he has written almost 60 articles for the German magazine.
Now it turns out that he has fabricated stories and quoted sources, as he has never met or spoken with, in at least 14 of the articles. Maybe more. Der Spiegel takes, with good reason, not his own words at face value any longer and have launched a thorough investigation.
Several of the fake stories have been nominated for or have won prestigious prizes. It is international stories about serious topics such as children who are kidnapped by the Islamic State, and the Guantanamo prisoners.
Politiken regretted to have brought an interview with the last survivor of the German resistance group the White Rose, the 99-year-old Traute Lafrenz. Relotius have made the interview, but according to Lafrenz are several of the quotations fabricated.
the newspaper Politiken’s editor-in-chief, Christian Jensen, writing in his regret, that it is difficult to hedge against a failure, as it is, the scammer Relotius has inflicted on the industry. I agree, we are obviously working all out from the premise that our colleagues are honorable people who take journalism seriously.
On the Extra Magazine we had some years ago expel sportsjournalisten Michael Nolan, who had used fake sources in his stories, both in his previous work on B. T. and in fewer cases in his work with us. No one had in his wildest dreams imagined that the man who went on our times and bore our name, would abuse our and the readers ‘ confidence on the way. But it came to pass.
they have been just as shocked. To such a degree, that the colleague, which ultimately revealed the fraud, had to go through a helvedesuge, where no one believed in him. Juan Moreno was loren at the colleague Relotius’ methods, when he worked with him along the american-mexican border. Moreno got a hold of some of the sources, as Relotius had quoted far and wide. Sources, which turned out never to have met him. Since it emerged that he also lied about a hand-painted sign, which said ‘Mexicans, stay away’. The sign was only in Relotius’ imagination.
Although there are, fortunately, very far between the black sheep of this caliber, this sad case the occasion for self-examination. Any editors have a responsibility to keep self-regulation, and any editor has the responsibility to be pisseirriterende and ask questions to even trivial things. ‘Have you really the interview on tape’, f.ex.
his case, especially when it comes to the icons that also this industry fosters. Over the years I have seen cases where the stardom of journalists has made them unreceptive to the critical pressure test, which should be everyday for everyone. And I have conversely also seen editors who have failed to ask cash for the stellar work, just because they were stars and exalted as infallible.
Der Spiegel-the case is a huskekage. It must be like rings in the ears.
