In response to the reports on the alleged death of a 5-year-old girl on an island in Evros in August, many German media report that Spiegel's credibility is again in question, less than four years after the Relotius scandal deeply exposed the well-known magazine.
A series of sharp questions about the validity of "Der Spiegel" publications in which it reproduced unproven allegations about the "death of 5-year-old Maria" in Evros in August, are raised for the first time by major German media such as the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Bild, Tagesspiegel and Focus, a few days after the well-known magazine withdrew the controversial texts from its website, admitting that the information on which it was based was verified.
A barrage of publications in recent days reminds that this is not the first time the credibility of "Spiegel" has been directly questioned, as in 2018 the German press was shocked by the revelation that many of the texts of the magazine's famous and award-winning journalist Claas-Hendrik Relotius were not based on facts but on false information invented by him.
"The dead girl may not have existed", writes the FAZ in its headline, while recalling that the "Spiegel" reports attributed the "loss" of the 5-year-old girl to the inaction of the Greek authorities. "Now the reports have disappeared. What is going on?" it adds.
Bild, the largest German newspaper in terms of circulation, is on the same wavelength, pointing out in its headline: "Almost four years after the Relotius scandal: again doubts about SPIEGEL reportage."
"Doubts about the validity: SPIEGEL takes down articles from its website," the newspaper "Tagesspiegel" says in its headline, adding in its subtitle that "the whole handling is reminiscent of the Relotius affair."
"Reports should be checked SPIEGEL takes down articles from its website, doubts about report on dead refugee child in Greece," the journalists' network RND notes on its website.
The issue is also covered by the well-known magazine "Focus": "Four years after the Relotius scandal: doubts about refugee girl's death SPIEGEL takes down articles from its website", it says in its headline.
The case was extensively covered by the industry website Medieninsider, which specialises in press issues. The site stresses that doubts about the accuracy of Spiegel's reports are not limited to the alleged death of the girl, but even touch on whether there was a "little Maria". Medieninsider underlines that the Greek government had denied the German magazine's reports from the beginning, arguing that they were based on unfounded NGO allegations.
According to the German press, the strong doubts about Der Spiegel's reporting on the "Little Maria" case have led to the activation of the internal control mechanisms established by the magazine after the Relotius scandal, which indicates the seriousness of the case.
Medieninsider's investigators appear to have sent questions to Der Spiegel's correspondent in Greece, George Christidis - who signed most of the texts that have now been withdrawn and is known for many denunciatory texts focusing on immigration - but received no answers.
Source: skai.gr
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