The influence of social media and the associated dynamics.
Preface. A good two weeks ago I was at a panel discussion in Vienna on the topic “No more war in Europe !” Is the EU peace project in crisis ?!!”[ 1 ] as a guest. It wasn't about dogs, but I was asked the question whether you have any chance of being heard on social media.
My answer was “Yes!” Yes, you can be heard on social media if you use the right triggers. Children, animals, people with disabilities as a topic often create a big emotional discussion with a lot of interaction and sometimes a certain amount of media coverage.
At the same time, emotions can quickly cause a topic to boil over; calm analyzes or illuminating the background are hardly possible. Yes, social media can do a lot, social media can achieve a lot, but social media can also be very dangerous.
Theme. The dog in the basement.
“Not everything that is unpleasant can be banned.”
That was a statement from the Gütersloh district on this topic ( compare ). The reason was a status message on Facebook, which was published shortly after 9 p.m. on October 29th and was accompanied by two videos. These videos show a German Shepherd in a basement room with no lights. A person with a flashlight films this situation.
One video is 15 seconds long and shows the dog in a plastic tub, the other video is 34 seconds long and shows the room being filmed. The dog runs around in the basement. The status message written for this includes both videos, but the author is not the same person as the person who created the videos:

I ASK FOR HELP
A German Shepherd has been kept in the basement for 4 years - she only has a plastic basket without a blanket. We've been fighting with the veterinary and police for weeks and nothing has happened.
We don't know what to do anymore. It breaks my heart to see something like that in the middle of Germany. Maybe someone can help us???
According to the author, the videos were made by one of the residents, a neighbor of the dog owner.
This status report actually received a lot of attention. At the same time, however, the courts of the social media community also struck mercilessly at this point: a dynamic of anger was born, which in some cases is not always expressed legally.
Get the poor animal out, and if you have to, then in a non-legal way. I think I'm crazy, people are still thinking about it????? I don't understand it at all. Fuck the authorities, you can forget about them anyway, until the dog dies, they don't do ANYTHING. Poor Germany
reporting
Here, too, the relevance of social media conversations ultimately transcended their virtual scope and gained influence in reality. The Haller Kreisblatt, the local newspaper with the highest circulation, quickly took up the topic in several articles. Within 48 hours, this status report initially received a lot of local attention, then later gained a national stage through (partially tabloid) reporting.
But let's stick to the reporting from the local media, which, on the one hand, is close to the issue and, on the other hand, has examined the topic in more depth. On October 31, 2018, there were 3 different articles in the Haller Kreisblatt during the day, in which the status report, as well as the situation of the dog, but also the people involved, were discussed.
October 31st: In the morning
Early in the morning there was the first reporting that this video exists and what it shows. This article was expanded in the afternoon by the voices of a spokesman for the Gütersloh district, as well as a resident who says he is closely following the dog's situation.
“Not everything that is unpleasant can be banned”
“The dog is demonstrably not kept in the basement all the time”
“But the law does not allow us to intervene here”
– Jan Focken, spokesman for the Gütersloh district in the Haller Kreisblatt
The morning
It should be exciting on the morning of October 31st. must have been when a film crew wanted to shoot on site. However, the film team itself was sent off and was not allowed to film directly at the house.
“A dismissal was given, probably for the film team” – police press spokeswoman Katharina Felsch
The author of the original status post also commented on this via her Facebook profile and stated that there had even been a violent situation with the landlord (not the dog owner).

At this point at the latest it becomes very problematic, because in principle the landlord (who was completely uninvolved to date) has the right to refuse access to a camera team. If, at the same time, there were physical altercations, the situation becomes even more complicated. The third component of the death threats, which was also discussed, is another factor in the dynamics of the whole story: Why was the tenant who took the recordings threatened with death - and by whom?
In the afternoon
Meanwhile, the mood surrounding the status report is boiling over, people are talking about vigilantism and more or less credible threats can be found in comments.
In a second article on the afternoon of October 31, 2018, the focus is now placed more on the statements from the veterinary office and the owner.
The owner first spoke up on the local radio, saying she was in the German Shepherd Club and also trained German Shepherds. She also said on the radio that she had never experienced “such a hate speech” in the 40 years she has been keeping dogs.
In this second article, the district veterinary office also states that the dog has not been locked in the basement for four years without interruption and without social contact. This is probably an important statement, at least from a legal point of view, which we will come back to later.
It is also assumed that this video does not come from the last few days, but the expression “VIDEO FROM OLDER DATE” is too unspecific to give a concrete date:
“The facts depicted in the video no longer exist, so it is probably an older video. As far as we know, the dog is no longer being kept in the basement at the moment.”
The evening
In this sense, we are still on October 31, 2018. The story has received another interesting spin, so that the Haller Kreisblatt takes up the topic again in a third publication.
This third article is entitled “Lawyer for the dog owner speaks of propaganda” ( see here ). Perhaps this article could have been given the subtitle “what was to be expected”, because at this point it not only becomes completely opaque, but it also shows how dangerous accusations on social media can be. For everyone involved, by the way.
Let's first briefly summarize the third article in the Haller Kreisblatt: Apparently there is a legally understandable neighborhood dispute in the house. According to the lawyer, the tenant who also made the video already has several complaints filed against him in this neighborhood dispute:
He has also already been reported to the authorities for stalking, damage to property, defamation, trespassing and false accusations. “An eviction lawsuit against him is currently underway.”
According to the Haller Kreisblatt, the veterinary office was also on site again on the afternoon of October 31st (due to the social media reports).
Current status: Neighborhood dispute?
According to the lawyer, injunctions are now underway against the neighbor who shot the video, but also against the author of the status report. The author of the status message confirmed the cease and desist request on her profile with the status message “OH NOW I GET A CANCELING ACTION Good friend and helper was just there”.
In our eyes, there are still various small problems:
- Was the neighbor authorized to access the basement room?
- How will the accusation “A German Shepherd has been kept in the basement for 4 years” be legally evaluated compared to the statement from the veterinary office that the dog has not been locked in the basement for four years without interruption and without social contact?
- Is there perhaps even a case of defamation?
- What consequences will there be for those involved or even bystanders who are wrongly implicated?
What can definitely be predicted at this point are disputes that will end up in court. Especially when cases grow via social media, components such as personal rights, incorrect wording, more or less credible threats or the like quickly come into play.
Many problems! Also for reporting
How do you report a case like this? Well, in classic tabloid reporting it's quite simple: you pick up on emotions and exaggerate them.
But what do you do with this story outside of the tabloids? There is basically no doubt: the video itself is of course real. It documents a prevailing condition (at an unspecified point in time). The dog was in the basement at the time the photo was taken.
However, from the Haller Kreisblatt's reporting you can clearly see the dynamics that the overall story has taken, what twists, new accusations and emotions there are in the topic. It also shows how important it is that in the position of the reporting medium you have to keep the emotions about a case at a distance, that you have to take the descriptive position but should not take the emotional position.
What's exciting is that in this case, with two completely opposing viewpoints, it's best to leave terms like truth or fake out of the picture. It is therefore important, especially for reporting media, to offer a complete and unemotional overview without taking sides. The Haller Kreisblatt must have succeeded in doing this quite well, as on the one hand the original status report was able to have its say, the authorities concerned were reflected (an editor from the newspaper was on site together with the authorities), the owner herself was given the opportunity to present it, and so on not least the owner's lawyer. The exit remains open, at least according to widespread information the dog is currently not in the basement room.
Observing position
In this very emotionally charged story, we also take a consciously observing position. Mimikama will not judge anything at this point. We ask you to take this into account in all reactions to this topic. The case is still open and it is likely to have legal repercussions, as the status report is currently still online and has been distributed thousands of times, with a simultaneous notice of a cease and desist request.
Sources cited:
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Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )

