Arnon Grunberg

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On business and newspapers - Vicky Bargel and Anton Rainer in Der Spiegel

‘On December 28, the paper’s Sunday edition, called Welt am Sonntag, had printed a guest editorial by Elon Musk, in which the American billionaire called on German voters to support the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) in upcoming parliamentary elections.

The impact was enormous. Rarely has a piece published by the paper been so widely quoted and so universally panned. International papers like the New York Times and Le Figaro also weighed in.
Inside the newsroom of Die Welt, Musk’s overt support for the AfD had begun creating waves several days prior to the op-ed’s ultimate publication and generated sharp criticism of Poschardt. When it finally did make it into print, the head of the paper’s opinion section, Eva Marie Kogel, resigned and many journalists at Die Welt distanced themselves publicly from the piece.’

(…)

‘The fact that Must was to be given space in Die Welt to expand on this dubious claim triggered more than a few raised eyebrows. Frustration grew when the first editors had a chance to read the piece – and realized that it was, to put it mildly, lacking complexity. It became clear that Musk embraced hyperbole and, rather than presenting well-founded arguments to support his claim, instead relied on simplistic drivel, such has his insistence that the AfD’s top candidate Alice Weidel could in no way be reminiscent of Hitler because she is a lesbian with a partner from Sri Lanka. Any serious journalist would have been roundly castigated by the editors for turning in such a piece.’

(…)

‘The paper’s top editors decided to move ahead with the piece anyway. In the Sunday edition of Die Welt on December 29, Musk’s op-ed appeared under the headline: "Why Elon Musk Is Backing the AfD.” Next to it was a rebuttal from the paper’s designated editor-in-chief Burgard with the title: "Why Elon Musk Is Wrong.”’

(…)

‘It doesn’t read like a critical interview led by Döpfner, who was once a journalist himself. Rather, it feels more like flirtatious fawning during a first date. Döpfner tossed up softball after softball, like: "You are making huge leaps when it comes to battery lifespans” and: "This morning, I was in Grünheide” – the town outside of Berlin where Tesla was in the process of building a massive factory at the time – "and I was really impressed.” In the introduction to the interview, the Springer CEO refers to Musk as "probably the greatest visionary on the planet.” Since that interview, there have been plenty of indications showing how Döpfner has sought to get closer to the richest man in the world.’ (…)

‘Döpfner celebrated his 60th birthday in 2023 in a villa in Lucca, Italy. He took legal action to prevent media coverage of the event, arguing that it was a purely private affair and not in the public’s interest. Guests were apparently required to cover up the cameras on their mobile phones. Numerous sources say that Elon Musk attended the event.
DER SPIEGEL has learned that he wasn’t there on his own. To accompany him, he flew in the right-wing radical Dutch influencer Eva Vlaardingerbroek, known as a reporter for the right-wing populist portal Nius and, in the U.S., for being interviewed by Tucker Carlson on his show. She regularly spreads right-wing extremist conspiracy myths, such as the so-called "great replacement” theory. She, too, celebrated with Döpfner, it is said. Many participants were apparently rather upset by her presence, and former Springer spokesman Adib Sisani told confidants that Döpfner had told him about Vlaardingerbroek’s appearance and that he himself had been quite displeased about this uninvited guest.’

(…)

‘On LinkedIn, publisher Ulf Poschardt recently shared a commentary by the lawyer Joachim Steinhöfel. In the piece, he writes that only "enemies of the liberal state” would criticize the printing of Musk’s commentary. "Their names should be remembered.”’

Read the article here.

Aha, business interests and pragmatism. The story is well-known.

Their names should be remembered is a telling message from publisher Ulf Poschardt.

We are against antisemitism and sexism, as long as it doesn’t hurt the revenue,

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