Dialog International

Ken Jebsen Must Be Banned From YouTube

I strongly support the First Amendment and freedom of speech.  But spreading false information on social media that potentially endangers the safety of the public violates this basic freedom.  Ken Jebsen has been spreading conspiracy theories for years on his KenFM YouTube channel.  Most of this is the usual drivel about how the CIA and Mossad (or Israel) are the root of all evil in the world (Jebsen stated once that the Holocaust was a public relations stunt).  The content was dumb but basically harmless - much of it was a regurgitation of conspiracies promoted on the Russian propaganda outlet RT Deutsch. 

But recently Jebsen's profile in Germany has been enhanced by the coronavirus pandemic and the containment/prevention policies of testing, social distancing and contact tracing implemented by public health officials and Chancellor Angela Merkel.  Jebsen promotes the conspiracy theory that the pandemic is a giant hoax concocted by Bill Gates - who "owns" the World Health Organization as well as the entire media and political establishment of Germany. Jebsen has "proof" that Gate's intention is to further enrich himself by producing an unsafe vaccine and then forcibly injecting it into all Germans through an "Impfpflicht" (mandatory vaccine).  Also, Gates is behind the requirement to wear protective face masks in order to inspire fear in the population. The coronavirus, Jebsen insists, is no more dangerous or deadly than the seasonal flu. These "theories"  are of course totally preposterous and should just be ignored - except that hundreds of thousands of Germans seem believe there is some truth to this conspiracy.  Jebsen outlined his "theory" in a video - Gates kapert Deutschland ("Gates is hijacking Germany"), which has been viewed over 3 million times. Last weekend there were large "resistance" demonstrations in Berlin, Stuttgart, and elsewhere where demonstrators carried banners and placards attacking Gates and the chancellor.  The danger is that these demonstrators - who refuse to wear masks or adhere to social distancing - are risking infections of themselves or people they come into contact with.  The longer-term danger is that when an effective vaccine does become available  a large segment of the population will refuse to get vaccinated because they follow Jebsen, RT Deutsch, and other conspiracy outlets. 

I have contacted YouTube, Google, and the YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki about blocking KenFM on the platform.  In a recent interview Wojcicki spoke about YouTube's policy concerning false information pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic: 

YouTube Susan Wojcicki has suggested that the video platform will remove content that contradicts the World Health Organization's advice on COVID-19.In an interview with CNN published Sunday, Wojcicki said YouTube would be "removing information that is problematic" including "anything that is medically unsubstantiated."For example, she said, content that claimed vitamin C or turmeric would cure people of COVID-19 would be "a violation of our policy" and removed accordingly.She continued: "Anything that goes against WHO recommendations would be a violation of our policy and so remove is another really important part of our policy." Wojcicki acknowledged that YouTube had had to quickly update its policies in response to the virus, and the accompanying spread of misinformation.

Clearly Ken Jebsen - through his KenFM YouTube channel (half a million subscribers) is spreading false and dangerous misinformation and should be immediately removed from the platform.

Covid-19: Let the Conspiracy Theories Begin

As the scope of the coronavirus pandemic became apparent, it didn't take long for conspiracy theories to begin circulating.  As is customary in Germany, the United States plays a prominent role in many of these theories.  The Hamburg politician Mehmet Yildiz - a prominent member of the Left Party (Die LINKE)- stated recently at a public forum that the virus was "developed in a laboratory", presumably by the US military, as a "weapon of war" to attack America's political rivals China and Iran:

„Die USA haben unter dem Vorwand des Schützens der Menschenrechte, der Bekämpfung des Terrorismus oder dem Akteuren wie der syrischen Regierung ohne Beweise zugeschriebenen Einsatz von Chemiewaffen Kriege gegen andere Länder begonnen aber sie werden China keinen Krieg erklären. Aufgrund dieses Virus wurde nun jedoch die chinesische Wirtschaft empfindlich getroffen. Iran und Italien, die nach China die meisten Infektionen haben, sind ebenfalls erklärte Feindbilder der USA (Iran) oder einer der größten Handelspartner Chinas (Italien)."

On the far-right, Compact Magazin, published a similar theory about the origins of the corona virus where again the US is the bogeyman:

„Mehrere Forschungsgruppen haben berechnet, dass sich das Virus etwa Mitte November 2019 auszubreiten begann – was die These unterstützt, dass die Ausbreitung vor den mit dem Markt verbundenen Fällen stattgefunden haben könnte.“ Es könnte, so Zhao, zu diesem früheren Zeitpunkt durch US-Athleten eingeschleppt worden sein, die im Oktober an den Internationalen Militärspielen (Military Games) in Wuhan teilnahmen. Die US-Sportler ihrerseits hätten sich zuvor an einem „amerikanischen“ Coronavirus angesteckt, der aus dem Biowaffenlabor auf dem US-Militärstützpunkt in Fort Detrick entwichen sei. Tatsächlich hatte das US-Seuchenamt CDC Detrick im August 2019 geschlossen."

Did these proponents. of the "American Virus" come up with this conspiracy theory on their own?  No, it was spread by a "reliable source>" 

"Laut einem aktuellen EU-Papier soll Russland aktuell eine „bedeutende Desinformationskampagne“ gegen den Westen gestartet haben. Demnach sollen Fake News in Englisch, Spanisch, Italienisch, Deutsch und Französisch verbreitet werden, damit es den Staaten der EU schwerer fällt, ihre Reaktion auf die Corona-Pandemie zu kommunizieren. Russland wolle „Panik erzeugen“, „Misstrauen säen“ und „die Auswirkungen des Coronavirus verschlimmern“, wie die Nachrichtenagentur Reuters aus dem EU-Papier zitiert. „Das übergeordnete Ziel der Desinformationsstrategie des Kreml ist eine Verschärfung der Krise der öffentlichen Gesundheit in westlichen Ländern“, heißt es in dem neunseitigen Papier."

Funny how the far left and far right both embrace Putin and his propaganda network. 

Did DieWelt spread Fake News about Trump and German biotech firm CureVac?

On March 15, the newspaper Welt am Sonntag, in an article titled, "Donald Trump Poaches German Vaccine Company," reported that U.S. President Donald J. Trump had offered "a large sum of money" to buy the privately-held Tübingen-based company CureVac, which is working to produce a vaccine against the coronavirus. But here is what was explosive about the article: The newspaper reported that according to anonymous persons within "German government circles" (deutschen Regierungskreisen), Trump wanted to "secure the drug exclusively for his country."

"Der US-Präsident bietet der deutschen Firma angeblich einen hohen Betrag, um sich ihre Arbeit zu sichern. Von einer Milliarde Dollar ist in Berlin die Rede. Besonders problematisch ist: Trump tue alles, um einen Impfstoff für die Vereinigten Staaten zu bekommen. „Aber eben nur für die USA“, heißt es in der Bundesregierung."

The report sounded the alarm bell in Berlin.  German foreign minister Heiko Mass alerted his colleagues throughout Europe and Asia about Trump's evil intent: „Dieses Virus werden wir nur gemeinsam besiegen, nicht gegeneinander“ Interior minister Horst Seehofer expressed his outrage about the greed and the arrogance of the Americans.  When asked how he learned about Trump's effort to steal German intellectual property, Seehofer responded he learned about it from "colleagues in the cabinet."  Trump's attempted treachery even caught the attention of Angela Merkel and nearly sparked a trans-Atlantic diplomatic crisis. 

Unfortunately, none of the politicians in Berlin bothered to check the veracity of the Welt am Sonntag article.  Nor did anyone bother to check with CureVac.  On Monday the acting CEO of CureVac, Franz-Werner Haas, tweeted:

To make it clear again on coronavirus: CureVac has not received from the US government or related entities an offer before, during and since the Task Force meeting in the White House on March 2. CureVac rejects all allegations from press.

— CureVac (@CureVacAG) March 16, 2020

In a call with reporters and investors Haas elaborated on his denial of any deal with Trump or the United States:

In einer Telefonkonferenz am Dienstag hat das Management des Unternehmens nun aber erklärt, solch ein Angebot habe es ohnehin nie gegeben. Weder habe die US-Regierung versucht, das Unternehmen zu kaufen, noch sich exklusive Fertigungskapazitäten in Tübingen zu sichern. Auch Wissenschaftler seien nicht direkt angesprochen worden, hieß es bei CureVac.

Meanwhile, Die Welt has not apologized for the false report, nor even explained how it got published.  Some of its readers have expressed disgust at the editorial oversight of the daily:

Der Relotius-Moment der Welt-Redaktion. Die Redaktion sollte sich rasch von der Autorin und allen trennen, die nicht mit der gebotenen Sorgfalt recherchiert haben. Zudem solle eine Richtigstellung veröffentlicht werden - bewusst analog derjenigen, die auf rechtliche Richtigstellung hin erfolgen. Alles andere schädigt den Ruf und die Glaubwürdigkeit des wichtigen Mediums "Die Welt", und schädigt die vielen, die für diese Zeitung sauber recherchierte Arbeit abliefern

There are ample reasons to criticize Trump and his administration without having to manufacture Fake News.  What is sad is how the article played into anti-American sentiment in Germany. Even at the highest level of the German government.

Anti-Americanism and the German SPD

Hatred of America has always been a cornerstone of both  pro-Putin parties Die LINKE and the right-wing extremist AfD.  But what about the mainstream center-left SPD?  Here is an excerpt from Hating America: A History:

"The victory of Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who had been suffering during the campaign because of the country's poor economy, was probably due to his demogogic anti-American appeals. Among other things, Schoeder made a nationalist appeal by stating that to go along with American policy would make Germany a puppet of the United States. His justice minister, Herta Daeubler-Gmelin, went so far as to compare Bush to Adolf Hitler, which in Germany was no mere rhetorical flourish.

Indeed, Schroeder's German Social Democratic Party became a consistent sponsor of anti-Americanism. Ludwig Stiegler, a member of parliament, likened Bush to an imperialist Roman emperor bent on subjugating Germany.  Oskar Lafontaine, the party's deputy co-chairman, called the United States "an aggressor nation." Rudolf Hartnung, chairman of the youth organization, accused the United States of "ideologically inspired genocide" in Central America and other places.  State legislator Jurgen Busack claimed, "the warmongers and international arsonists do not govern in the Kremlin.  They govern in Washington. The United Statesmust lie, cheat, and deceive in an effort to thwart resistance to its insane foreign policy adventures."

Some of the most outlandish September 11, 2001 conspiracy theories have been promoted by SPD officials - often with an anti-Semitic slant.  The former SPD minister Andreas von Bulow wrote the perennial bestseller (in Germany) The CIA and September 11 which asserted the World Trade Center attacks were actually a joint "operation" between the CIA and Mossad, and that the Saudi terrorists were actually alive and well.  The former SPD official and aide to Willy Brandt Albrecht Müller has also promoted the "CIA and Mossad"  conspiracy theory on his influential blog NachDenkSeiten - also implying that the WTC attacks were masterminded  by the "Jewish billionaire" George Soros.  In general NachDenkSeiten and other German conspiracy sites see the CIA as an all-powerful force behind virtually everthing that happens. Jens Berger, Albrecht Müller's junior editor, has implicated the CIA with everything from the shooting down of MH17 in the Ukraine, to organizing the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. The site also republishes and shares content with the Kremlin propaganda network RT Deutsch.  So pro-Russian sentiment is also something they share with the Left Party and the right-wing AfD.

Widespread Anti-American Sentiment in Germany

The other day the Frankfurt daily FAZ had a piece about the talk show "Anne Will" with the ironic title "Das hat es in einer deutschen Talkshow noch nicht gegeben" ("this never happened before in a German talk show").  What was so unusual about this particular show?  The topic was foreign policy and there was practically no attacks on the United States:

"Es wird über einen internationalen Konflikt geredet und die Vereinigten Staaten werden nicht erwähnt. Niemand gab einem amerikanischen Präsidenten gute Ratschläge, wie er alles besser machen könnte."

German pundits and journalists in particular don't usually spare an opportunity to comment negatively on U.S. society and politic. Bashing America for bringing peace and prosperity to Germany for the past 75 years has always been popular, and not just in the press.  No doubt German anti-Americanism has gotten much worse since Donald Trump became president.  As conservative columnist Max Boot points out, Trump is the personification of the "ugly American.":

"It never occurs to Trump that he is confirming every anti-American stereotype on the planet. If you think the United States is a rapacious imperialist bent on despoiling the planet and looting other countries with an army of mercenaries, Trump seems intent on convincing you that you are right. He is the very personification of the Ugly American — and his ugly impact on American standing abroad may take decades to dissipate."

Still, it is one thing to criticize the policies of the Trump administration and another to embrace authoritarian regimes simply because they oppose the United States.  I expect the left-wing Die Linke party and the right-wing extremist party to glorify Putin's Russia as an antidote to America power, but I've been amazed at the support totalitarian regimes such as Iran, China, and Venezuela have in mainstream German opinion.  This disconnect was noted by the Liberal (FDP) politician Frank Müller-Rosentritt in a recent article he wrote for the NZZ:

"Donald Trump mag mit seiner Mad-Man-Strategie oft für Kopfschütteln und Verunsicherung sorgen. Dennoch ist es kaum nachvollziehbar, warum der Präsident eines liberalen, demokratischen Rechtsstaats für 41 Prozent der befragten Bundesbürger eine grössere Gefahr für den Weltfrieden darstellen soll als Antidemokraten wie Kim Jong Un (17 Prozent), Ali Khamenei (8 Prozent), Wladimir Putin (8 Prozent) und Xi Jinping (gerade einmal 7 Prozent). Und wenn man wissen will, welcher Politiker denn «das Richtige» in weltpolitischen Fragen tue, dann nennen im europäischen Vergleich ungleich mehr Deutsche Wladimir Putin und Xi Jinping."

Do they care that Putin has his critics, investigative journalists and political opponents imprisoned? Or that President Xi Jinping in China has detained over a million Uighurs in "reeducation" camps? So far, the support for the pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong, Lebanon, and elsewhere has seemed muted Germany.  Do many Germans now just take democracy and freedom for granted?

"Haben wir schon vergessen, wie sich ein Leben in Unfreiheit in einem Unrechtsstaat anfühlt? Betrachtet man das Bild, das die Deutschen von den USA haben – und in welchem sie durch wichtige Leitmedien regelmässig bestätigt werden –, dann könnte man diesen Eindruck durchaus gewinnen. Dabei sind und bleiben die USA als eine der ältesten Demokratien der Welt unser wichtigster Wertepartner. Kein anderes Land Europas hat den USA so viel zu verdanken. Während anderswo eher die politische Linke antiamerikanisch und das rechte Milieu eher amerikafreundlich eingestellt ist, zieht sich die Ablehnung in Deutschland durch alle sozialen und politischen Gruppen, und das, obwohl wir Deutschen in jüngster Geschichte zwei Regime erlebt haben, in denen Freiheit und Menschenwürde mit Füssen getreten wurden."

("Have we forgotten what it feels like to live under oppression and injustice? If you judge by the image that Germans have of USA - regularly amplified by the mainstream media - one could easily have this impression. But the USA as one of the oldest democracies remains our most important values partner. No other nation in Europe owes so much to the USA. Whereas in other countries the political left is anti-American but the right-wing is more America-friendly, in Germany the rejection of America crosses all political groups, even though we Germans have in recent past experienced two regimes where freedom and human dignity were trampled upon."

 

 

On US Independence Day, German Blog Promotes Anti-American Conspiracy Theories

I rarely check in anymore with the pro-Kremlin blog NachDenkSeiten.  If I want to read Russian propaganda I can go directly to primary sources such a RT Deutsch or, now that my Russian is improving, Pravda. Reading the latest posts I came across a reader's letter quoted approvingly by NachDenkSeiten editor Albrecht ("Der Tod kommt aus Amerika") Müller.  In his letter, the reader explains that America is responsible for a)rise of the Nazis, b) World War II, and c) the Holocaust:

"Ist es unerheblich zu wissen, dass die USA den Konflikt mit Russland, bzw. der damaligen Sowjetunion von Anfang an schürten? Dass entscheidende Geldgeber für die NSDAP aus dem amerikanischen Ausland kamen? Dass die USA das 3. Reich mit kriegswichtigen Gütern versorgte, ohne die die deutschen Panzer Stalingrad nie erreicht hätten – ihnen wäre einfach unterwegs der Sprit ausgegangen. Das US-Unternehmen maßgeblich zur Judenvernichtung beitrugen, weil sie unentbehrliche Teile Logistik stellten. Ist das, oder ist das nicht wichtig, für den Umgang mit den USA?"

For Müller and his team of "journalists", all the evil in the world emanates from the United States - the 9/11 attacks, climate change, the shooting down of MH17 over the Ukraine, etc.  The conspiracy theories that Americans financed Hitler, supplied oil to the Wehrmacht and sold technology that was "instrumental" (maΒgeblich) to the Holocaust are widely held by both left- and right-wing pundits (Querfront) in Germany.  The conspiracy theorist/radio host (and friend of Albrecht Müller) Ken Jebsen famously promoted these as well as the "theory" that the Holocaust was a PR stunt initiated by Madison Avenue:

sie brauchen mir keine holocaus informatinen zukommen lassen. ich habe mehr als sie. ich weis wer den holocaust als PR erfunden hat. der neffe freuds. bernays. in seinem buch propaganda schrieb er wie man solche kampagnen durchführt. goebbels hat das gelesen und umgesetzt. ich weis wer die rassendatten im NS reich möglich gemacht hat. IBM mit hollerithmachinen. ich weis wer wärend des gesamten krieges deutschland mit bombersprit versorgt hat.standartoil also rockefeller.

("You needn't send me any information about the Holocaust.  I have more than you. I know who invented the Holocaust as PR: Freud's nephew Bernays. In his book "Propaganda" he wrote about how one carries out such a campaign. Goebbels read it and practiced it. I also know who made the race data possible in the Third Reich: IBM with its "Hollerith Machines" (mechanical tabulators). I know who supplied Germany throughout the war with bomber fuel: Standard Oil -that is, Rockefeller.")

It is a fact that IBM held a majority stake in the German company Dehomag, which held the license for the Hollerith punch-card technology and sold this to the Nazis.  (IBM lost control of its subsidiary after Germany declared war on America in 1941).  But IBM was just one of hundreds of American, British, Swedish, Swiss etc. companies that did business with the Reich - some up to the end of the war.  "Instrumental" to the Holocaust, however, were the Nazis who crafted the "final solution", the hundreds of thousands of Germans who carried out the mass killings, and tens of millions of Germans who supported the Führer and stood by as their Jewish neighbors were deported to the death camps.  IBM and the other businesses that  sold to the Nazis deserve criticism and should come clean about their past, but can hardly be considered "instrumental" to the Holocaust.  But to admit that would be anathema to Nachdenkseiten and the other conspiracy theorists whose mission is to demonize America and glorify Russia. 

For a comprehensive debunking of these conspiracy theories I recommend Kai Ruhsert's comprehensive essay (with footnotes).

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The Strange Death of NATO

IThis week marked the 70th anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the most successful alliance in history that brought peace, prosperity and freedom to Europe.  And yet the celebration felt more like a funeral, with a number of member nations - led by Germany - questioning the necessity of NATO:

Is NATO dying? The idea was once unthinkable, but after the German cabinet decided to keep defense spending as low as 1.25% of gross domestic product for the next five years it has become unavoidable. This decision is not driven by any fiscal urgency. Germany is projected to have a balanced budget after last year’s surplus of €11.2 billion, its fifth annual surplus in a row.

What Berlin means by this decision is clear: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the U.S. are not as important to Germany as they used to be. While irritation with and contempt for President Trump influence German foreign policy, something more profound is at work. Democrats including President Obama, as well as Republicans like John McCain, have long called on Germany to demonstrate its commitment to NATO by spending 2% of GDP on defense. By refusing even to come close to meeting NATO’s spending targets, Berlin is thumbing its nose not only at Donald Trump but at the U.S.

That Germany is now seen as an unreliable partner did not go unnoticed by some German observers - who call Germany "bündnisunfähig" - loosely translated as unable to live up to its commitments:

Am meisten gilt das für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland, deren politische Elite gewohnheitsmäßig auf Nato-Gipfeln kraftvolle Entschlüsse unterstützt, um dann, wieder zu Hause, das Gegenteil zu tun. So viel Illoyalität geht eine Weile gut – und dann nicht mehr. [...]Von autonomer europäischer Verteidigung zu fabulieren, falls Trumps Amerika eigene Wege geht, ist Zeitvergeudung und nährt nur Illusionen. Die Wahrheit lautet: Der deutsche Tugendbold ist nicht mehr bündnisfähig.

This unwillingness, or inability, to meet its commitments has caused some to question the value of the alliance - as, for example this commentary in the Wall Street Journal:  Why America Needs New Alliances: 

A central question for a revitalized alliance of democratic nations is which way the winds will blow in Western Europe. For a generation after the Berlin Wall’s fall in 1989, U.S. administrations seemed willing to take responsibility for Europe’s security indefinitely. European elites grew accustomed to the idea that perpetual peace was at hand, devoting themselves to turning the EU into a borderless utopia with generous benefits for all.

But Europe has been corrupted by its dependence on the U.S. Germany, the world’s fifth-largest economic power (with a GDP larger than Russia’s), cannot field more than a handful of operational combat aircraft, tanks or submarines. Yet German leaders steadfastly resist American pressure for substantial increases in their country’s defense capabilities, telling interlocutors that the U.S. is ruining a beautiful friendship.

Recent polls in Germany show that Germans fear Donald Trump more than Vladimir Putin.  Maybe Germany would be happier as part of the Russian Federation?

Anti-Americanism in the Age of Relotius

From time to time I receive an English language publication - The German Times - put out by the German Embassy in Washington DC.  The most recent issue has several articles on the fallout from the Fake News pieces by the  former star journalist at Der Spiegel Claas Relotius.  The writer Tanja Dückers writes about how the highly-acclaimed fake pieces by Relotius both reflected and fuel anti-Americanism in Germany:

"How deeply anchored and socially acceptable this unsophisticated anti-American resentment has become is evidenced by the success of the now-disgraced Der Spiegel journalist, Claas Relotius, who enjoyed particular acclaim for his invented reporting on exceedingly unlikeable Americans. It went over well."

Anti-Americanism in Germany is deep-seated and reflexive - especially among intellectuals.

"Germans’ prejudices with regard to America have both a cultural and a psychological dimension. They see the US as the land of evil capitalists, of fatties and dummies, of the rude and the arrogant, of narcissists who care about nothing in the world except themselves, of women who chase after countless cosmetic surgeries, and of men who, like the character of Scrooge McDuck (an American invention), are interested only in money instead of art and moral values (as we Germans are). They see the US as the land of popcorn children and moronic Trump voters in the Midwest, where, in fact, half of the citizens did not vote for him."

Anti-Americanism is also well-entrenched also in the political class.  Two of Germany's political parties - Die LINKE (The Left Party) and the AfD (Alternative for Germany) - call for Germany to end its alliance with the United States and embrace the corrupt ethno-kleptocracy of Vladimir Putin.  These two parties represent over 20% of the German electorate.  Too bad German politicians and intellectuals don't look beyond Donald Trump to many of the interesting things happening now in the United States: the vibrant start-up culture that has spread far beyond Silicon Valley, the embrace of social-democratic policies by the Democratic Party, which scored a huge victories in the 2018 mid-term elections, the energy and passion of American youth in organizing against gun violence, climate change, and economic inequality.  These developments - and many others (America is a big country) - often go unreported in the German media:

"Intellectuals in Germany have considerably less to say about the reasons for America’s success, which is indeed not solely grounded in exploitation and imperialism. Despite all its shortcomings, the unbelievably inspiring degree of ethnic and cultural integration enjoyed by this vastly heterogeneous country, the high level of personal discipline exhibited by countless workers in the US as well as the willingness of many Americans to embrace sacrifice and risk are seldom mentioned."

For the time being German political leaders like Oscar Lafontaine and Sara Wagenknecht will continue to use their iPhones to post anti-American screeds on Facebook and Twitter - while watching episodes of Breaking Bad on their iPads. 

Der Spiegel's Fake Journalist Reinforced Ugly Anti-American Stereotypes

In early 2017 Der Spiegel sent its star journalist Claas Relotius to a small town in rural Minnesota that had voted for Donald Trump in he 2016 presidential election.  Claas would stay for a month so that he could interview as many residents as possible and write a definitive piece on what makes these Trump supporters tick. 

An einem Dienstagmorgen im Januar, vier Tage nachdem Donald Trump als Präsident der Vereinigten Staaten vereidigt worden ist, steht neben dem Willkommensschild am Ortseingang noch ein zweites Schild, halb so hoch, aber kaum zu übersehen. Jemand muss es in der Dunkelheit aufgestellt haben. Auf diesem Schild, aus dickem Holz in den gefrorenen Boden getrieben, steht in großen, aufgemalten Buchstaben: "Mexicans Keep Out" - Mexikaner, bleibt weg.

Aha! Evidence of the racist undercurrents in this lily-white town.  Problem was, there was no such sign "Mexicans Keep Out".  Relotius had simply fabricated it.  In fact nearly everything in the 7,000 word piece was fabricated.  But the image fit the stereotype of the ignorant racists in rural America.

In the long piece "In einer kleinen Stadt" the townspeople literally worship their idol Donald Trump:

Der Gottesdienst beginnt mit einem Gebet für den Präsidenten. "Herr", predigt der Pastor, ein Mann in grauer Strickjacke, "beschütze unseren Bruder Donald, stehe ihm bei, und lass ihn Amerika beschützen, verleih ihm Stärke, und lass ihn unser Anführer und Hirte sein." Die Menschen in der Kirche schließen die Augen, sie falten die Hände.

That sermon never happened.  Neither did the cowboy-themed festival, nor the Super Bowl party, nor the high school field trip to New York City mentioned in the article.  None of this ever happened. 

The long piece is filled with vivid portraits of Fergus Falls residents.  One recurring citizen is "Neil Becker", whose hands are blackened from the coal dust from the power plant where he has toiled for many years:

Neil Becker ist 57 Jahre alt, verheiratet, ein Mensch mit tiefer Stimme und einem Gesicht, in dem selten Fragen zu finden sind. Er ist kein Farmer, er arbeitet nebenan im Kohlekraftwerk, seine Hände sind immer schwarz davon. Er sagt, dass sie am Flughafen in Washington einen Muslim, einen Jungen, der war erst fünf Jahre alt, verhaftet hätten. Dass die paar Mexikaner, die er kenne, "anständige Menschen" seien. Er schlägt dabei mit seiner schwarzen Hand auf den Tisch.

Problem is, the accompanying image of "Neil Becker" is actually photo of Doug Becker, who works for UPS and has run the Fergus Falls Fitness Center for years.  But this is the modus operandi of Claas Relotius:  include photographs of residents to lend an authentic flavor to the piece and then fabricate stories about each one of them. 

No doubt Relotius thought the townspeople of Fergus Falls were too dumb to actually follow up and read his piece - published in a foreign language in a magazine published in a distant land.  After all, the people depicted in his article are virtually illiterate  dumme Amis. But, unfortunately for Relotius,  some of the good citizens of Fergus Falls did follow up.  Two residents - Michele Anderson and Jake Krohn - dissected the long article paragraph by paragraph and exposed the massive deception: Der Spiegel journalist messed with the wrong small town.

As Anderson and Krohn point out, Rolotius' journalistic fraud has caused hurtful, lasting damage for the people of Fergus Falls:

Unfortunately now, even if it is in German, there is false historical documentation of our community that is not only completely wrong, but that our faces, our landscapes and our community’s name were used for, in service of perpetuating an ugly and exaggerated stereotype during a time when we, in both urban and rural places, need to find ways to understand each other more than to be divided.

And the sad fact is, a real journalist could have written a compelling and fascinating story about the real residents of Fergus Falls and the real and complex challenges they - along with much of rural America - face:

This is just a hunch, but it seems to me that Relotius’ overseas readers might appreciate knowing that small American towns are more complex than they imagine — that die-hard liberals like me can still magically live alongside conservative Republicans — that sometimes we even find some common ground and share a meal together, and take the time to try to understand each other’s viewpoints. You see, we’re definitely not perfect here in Fergus Falls, and many of us feel a lot of responsibility right now, considering that our friends, family and neighbors voted against their own interests in 2016. But we also know how it feels to be ignored in policy and media for decades only to be lectured by ignorant articles such as this after so much silence about our challenges.

Sahra Stands Up

Left Party firebrand Sahra Wagenknecht and her husband Oskar Lafontaine have begun to launch their left-wing "movement" Aufstehen ("Stand Up") with the goal of uniting progressives from all political parties and counteracting the growing threat from the right-wing populist AfD party (Alternative for Germany).  The official launch takes place on September 4, but the Website aufstehen.de is already up, and the group has already signed up over 50,000 supporters.  The three left-leaning political parties (LINKE, SPD, GREENS) altogether have more voters than the conservative parties, but have been unable - or unwilling - to form a coalition government to govern Germany.  Could this new movement Aufstehen somehow break through the impasse?  

By Friday, there was more good news for Wagenknecht's platform: A poll ordered by the Focus magazine showed that more than a third of German voters "could see themselves" voting for Aufstehen if the movement transformed into a political party. The response was overwhelmingly positive among the Left voters, where 87 percent were open to supporting her initiative at the polls.

So far, the Aufstehen movement does not appear to have a coherent platform - other than expressing a vague dissatisfaction with the prevailing "neo-liberal" order in Germany.  The Website consists of a short video clips of citizens from all walks of life talking about their everyday frustrations.  There is the retired pastor Kurt complaining about how badly people treat each other nowadays; there is the "internet economist" Karl-Heinz complaining that Germany is slow to embrace digitization - while gazing at a portrait of Karl Marx; there is Andi, studying to become a teacher, who complains that students are under too much stress to achieve academic success - Germany needs a "big hammer" to shatter the current system and start afresh. 

And then there is Sahra Wagenknecht - a charismatic speaker who, however, doesn't play well with others. She is a polarizing figure, even within her own Left Party.  She has spent her entire political career vilifying leaders of the social democrat SPD and the Green Party, while attacking Western liberal postwar order that made Germany and economic powerhouse and successful democracy.  Sahra Wagenknecht first appeared on the political stage after the fall of the East Germany (DDR) as a committed Stalinist and staunch supporter of the Berlin Wall and the totalitarian system it represented.  In an interesting essay written in 1992 - three years after the demise of the DDR - Wagenknecht mourned the loss of her beloved socialist fatherland and was contemptuous of the "counter-revolution" that brought it down:

So war zum Beispiel das Bildungssystem der DDR auch in den letzten Jahren immer noch erheblich besser als etwa das westdeutsche. Andere gesellschaftliche Bereiche, in denen sich der Sozialismus sogar noch in seinem Niedergang dem Imperialismus überlegen zeigte, ließen sich nennen. Gerade in der DDR konnte trotz allem ein relativ hoher Lebensstandard gehalten werden. Der erzeugte gesellschaftliche Reichtum war zwar nicht üppig - und sehr viel geringer, als er bei einer anderen Politik hätte sein können -, aber er wurde in solcher Weise verteilt, daß in der DDR niemand so leben mußte wie das untere Bevölkerungsdrittel in den imperialistischen Metropolen. Die entscheidende Grundlage sozialistischer Politik, das Volkseigentum, bestand fort. Trotz vorherigem Niedergang war die Konterrevolution des Herbstes 1989 also ein gravierender, ein qualitativer gesellschaftlicher Rückschlag.

("Thus for example the education system of the DDR even in the final years was still considerably better than the West German system.  We can also point out other social sectors in which socialism - even in its decline - were superior to the imperialistic system. In spite of everything the DDR was able to maintain a relatively high standard of living.  Its social wealth was hardly extravagant - and much less than it could have been with different policies, but it was distributed in such a way that no one in the DDR was forced to live like the bottom third of the population in imperialist metropolitan areas.  The decisive foundation of socialist policy - the collective ownership ("Volkseigentum")  - remained in place.  Despite the decline that was taking place, the counter-revolution in the fall of 1989 was a grave and qualitative setback. ") 

Sahra Wagenknecht never completely renounced these views and still considers the west - especially the United States - as "imperialist".  She remains true to Moscow, even though Russia today is a ethno-kleptocracy with little in common with the glorious Soviet Union of her youth.  She shares Putin's view that "the breakup of the Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical tragedy of the 20th century." Does she see Aufstehen as a movement with the potential to take Germany out of its postwar western alliances  - such as NATO  - that brought 70 years of peace and prosperity?  Would such a course resonate with large numbers of German voters?