Claas Relotius, the German journalist who invented the reports in Der Spiegel magazine

Claas Relotius, a recognized German journalist, 33 years old, He was admired for his reports published in the prestigious Journal of Journalistic Investigation Der Spiegel. But this apparent prestige world collapsed when they discovered that Reolotius He lied in his reports and even invented stories and characters.

The journalist's writings, considered "one of the most successful journalists of those years", were referred to as "masterful reports". One of his colleagues, who worked with him in a blanket on the US border, was suspected. and in Mexico he began to doubt many of the testimonies that Relotius had published.

This is how he looked for evidence and informed his superiors of suspicions aroused by the testimonials. According to the magazine, the journalist admitted to having invented whole episodes, not only of this report of November 2018, but also many other articles.

Fake News: the false news and its brutal impact on politics

Relotius has supposed that in some cases He has never spoken to many people that he quotes in reportsand that other characters, who were real, he invented a biography or quoted them saying things they never said. "He took snatches and from which he formed his creatures as a mischievous little god," the German publication explained. Der Spiegel about what happened.

Of the sixty reports that Relotius published in Der Spiegel since 2011, at least 14 of them have lies. The magazine also does not exclude that other lies have been hurt by the journalist's lies, because along with the work done in the magazine, they have also collaborated with other publications.

"This is not a journalist, but someone who tells fairy tales when he wishes." Relotius falsified stories and invented characters, which deceived readers and their colleagues, "he said. said the magazine in an article that gives details of the scandal.

Playful God and cheat at the Olympus Press

On December 3, Relotius won the award Best Report of the Year Award in Germany, with a story about a Syrian boy who talked about the conflict in this country. Admitting the lies, the journalist justified his behavior by saying that he was doing it for "fear of failure" and that "the pressure has increased" with the success of his writings.

The young journalist won four German journalism awards, a European press award, CNN has named it "Journalist of the Year" and Forbes magazine has included it in the list of the 30 most influential people under 30 years of media in Europe.

After returning it last Wednesday from the magazine, Der Spiegel created a commission to investigate the case and make recommendations to strengthen the quality control mechanisms of the published texts.

A.G./F.F.