Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Jail for teller of tall TV stories

Imre Karacs Bonn
Monday 23 December 1996 19:02 EST
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A German television reporter with a talent for fairy tales will be spending Christmas in jail for the next four years, imprisoned yesterday for stretching his creative licence too far.

Michael Born, a 38-year-old freelancer, was convicted in his home town of Koblenz of fraud, incitement to racial hatred, cruelty to animals and driving without a permit. He had sold commercial companies at least 16 "documentaries" which had owed more to his fertile imagination than to facts.

His highly praised "report" on a chapter of the Ku Klux Klan terrorising forest folk in the Rhineland might have won a prize, had it not been debunked by a policeman. Born had clad some friends in white tunics and hoods, recorded their anti- Semitic rantings and sprinkled the footage with swastikas.

He also dabbled in man-smuggling, interviewed fictitious terrorist leaders and staged a blood-soaked battle on the Albanian-Greek border.

Confronted with damning evidence during his trial, Born said: "I feel guilty towards the viewers, but not towards the television newsrooms".

His defence rested on thepremise that his customers were aware they were purchasing entertainment, not journalism. Dozens of witnesses testified that the cable and satellite channels competing for Born's business could have checked the veracity of his reports. They did not, because they were scared of losing a "good story".

By implication, the judge, Ulrich Weiland, found the entire industry guilty of fraud. But only Born will pay for the crime. The moguls who financed his antics remain at liberty.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in