Scandal breaks out in Germany as ZDF journalists make false and defamatory statements against Charlie Kirk

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Since the assassination of Charlie Kirk, some top brass German journalists have set out to smear the conservative activist  and to suggest he had it all coming because of his intolerable conservative views. Among these journalists: Elmar Thevessen and Dunja Hayali of ZDF public broadcasting.

But German star lawyer Joachim Steinhoefel isn’t having it.

On X, Steinhoefel issued an open letter demanding an immediate and public correction from the broadcasting company.  In an incident of journalistic gross negligence, ZDF Washington correspondent Elmar Theveßen made the false, preposterous, offensive and defamatory claim that Charlie Kirk had supported the stoning of homosexuals.

The Hamburg-Germany-based lawyer is also lodging a complaint against the host of the ZDF “heute-journal,” Ms. Dunya Hayali, for suggesting the attack on Kirk was a result of his own behavior, claiming Kirk, made “anti-homosexual, racist, sexist, and misanthropic statements.”

5 requests

Mr. Steinhoefel and thousands of followers are demanding that ZDF broadcasting 1) issue a public correction both on air and online, 2) apologize to the bereaved and the viewers, 3) document the correction in the media library, 4) conduct an internal review of editorial procedures and 5) cease repeating the false claim and exercise restraint in future reporting on violent crimes.

Steinhoefel is informing his followers they too can protest by (politely) sending the following letter to ZDF here:

Dear Sir or Madam,
Dear Mr. Himmeler,

Yesterday, Mr. Theveßen made the claim on various programs on your channel that Charlie Kirk had called for the stoning of homosexuals. Even the most basic standards of due diligence require that the source be checked and verified before broadcast to ensure that such a serious statement was actually made. These minimum standards clearly were not met. The dissemination of a false factual claim in a top story constitutes a flagrant violation of basic journalistic principles (duty of truthfulness, careful research, separation of news and opinion).

The irreverent embedding of the false claim in the context of a recent homicide is particularly serious. Instead of being restrained and showing respect for the murder victim and his relatives, the reporting was cold and exploitative: the crime was framed ideologically, while the deceased and his family were effectively disparaged. This violates respect for human dignity and the requirement for restraint in exceptional situations.

My complaint is also directed at the presenter of the heute-journal, Ms. Hayali. In the aforementioned program, she condemned the attack in her introduction, only to immediately follow it up with a “justification” for it, which had previously been ruled out pro forma. Hayali said on air: “The fact that there are now groups celebrating his death is unjustifiable, even with his everyday anti homosexual, racist, sexist, and misanthropic statements.” The approach of ‘condemning’ the act, only to immediately follow it with a “justification” in the form of derogatory labels, counteracts the supposed objectivity.

This is framing, not sober information.

Here, too, there is a lack of substantiated, concrete quotations, context, and proportionality.

I request:

1. Immediate correction of the false claim on air and online (equivalent broadcast slot/article header, insofar as this is also claimed on zdf.de or a video with the content is available), with clear identification
   of the error.
2. Apology to the bereaved and viewers.
3. Documented correction in the media library. Notice banner at the beginning of the relevant articles, removal or correction of the passages.
4. Internal review of editorial processes (source verification, dual control principle, escalation levels for serious allegations) and reporting on the results.
5. Refraining from repeating the disputed claims and exercising restraint in the future when responding immediately after violent crimes.

I expect your immediate response and information about the specific measures you will take.”

I hope readers here will take the time to copy and send Steinhoefel’s letter to the ZDF link provided above. If 10 readers do it, then it’s a success.

The English version is no problem for ZDF to understand.Do it for Charlie’s family, who are also impacted by this type of vicious and defamatory journalism.

Thanks!