Pope, Brad Pitt and Alice Weidel – all write for a magazine

What do the Pope, Brad Pitt, and Alice Weidel have in common? That's right: All three were apparently writers for "The European." At least, that's what it said on the website of the "magazine for debates and opinions."

The fact that His Holiness quickly wrote an opinion piece on European economic policy between the blessing and the synod, while Brad Britt philosophized about climate protection during two shoots in the content management system – no problem.

Fake and fake

Journalism, after all, is a diverse field. The only problem is that the illustrious group of authors, which includes Alice Weidel and many other politicians and celebrities on the list, probably didn't know how lucky they were.

And now an affair is circulating on the internet that has even left hardened media critics astonished. Plagiarism hunter Stefan Weber has with Blogger Alexander Wallasch uncovered what had been going on at the “Weimer Media Group” for years: a colorful collection of an estimated 950 fake author profiles.

In addition to the Pope, Weidel, and Hollywood stars, Robert Habeck, Christian Lindner, Benjamin Netanyahu, and other globally renowned names were also there—all busy writing. Or not. A composition that no normal editorial team in the world could manage.

Noindex tag

Particularly clever: The overview page with all the names and individual author profiles was hidden from Google using a "noindex" tag. They didn't want anyone to accidentally stumble across it or ask stupid questions via a "Google Alert."

What's particularly quick: After the exposure, the most embarrassing profiles disappeared faster than you can say "press code" after three glasses of wine. The "Weimer Media Group" has so far denied everything and is using the presumption of innocence.

Particularly piquant: The namesake Wolfram Weimer is currently Minister of State for Culture, i.e. the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media. Craziness.

Online confession

Critics see this as a clear case of misleading readers and commercial fraud against advertisers. Supporters of the paper call it a political smear campaign.

One thing is certain: If the Pope were really writing for "The European," he would probably have a lot to contribute to the confession. And in Hollywood, they would probably be Brad Pitt laugh if he had wasted his life on such a German platform.

Legally, it could also become quite uncomfortable: Anyone who uses other people’s names as authors without permission is not only walking on thin ice morally, but is probably also dancing through Minefield of copyright and personal protection.

Lawyer's gold treasure

The right to one's own name is fairly well protected in Germany – and when copied quotations or opinions are then linked to it, resourceful lawyers are likely to be rubbing their hands together.

A number of things are conceivable, from possible claims for damages due to reputational damage to criminal consequences due to identity theft. Alice Weidel has already hired lawyers.

Even the Pope can't help at this point. So much for journalistic credibility. Amen. But maybe Brad Pitt will make a film out of this unsavory story someday...

Sierks Media / © Photo: Markus Winkler, Unsplash