The claim
AfD politician Björn Höcke claims that a photo of a demonstration against right-wing extremism in Hamburg that ZDF used for reporting was manipulated because “people were even standing IN the Alster.” In doing so, he questions the authenticity of the demonstration and the credibility of the media.
Our conclusion
This claim is false. The German Press Agency (DPA) has confirmed the authenticity of the photo. Due to the perspective of the photo, the surface of the water is obscured by the crowds. There are no signs of image manipulation.
Especially when it comes to politically charged topics such as demonstrations against the right, a single image like the one from Hamburg can become the focus of a controversy, especially if it is misinterpreted by political figures like Björn Höcke. Digital media and social networks inexorably shape our perception. This makes it all the more important to distinguish between fact and fiction.
Rumors/claims about demo images from Hamburg
Höcke accused the media of manipulating a photo of the demonstration in Hamburg. He claims that the picture shows “ordered crowds” demonstrating against the AfD and insinuates that the demonstrators are just part of a staged action. He refers to a detail of the picture that supposedly shows people standing “in the Alster.” ZDF used the image in question for reporting .
This photo is now being picked up on social media to accuse ZDF of image manipulation.
Above all, Björn Höcke, who accused the media of image manipulation on X (Twitter) on January 20th:
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Evaluation
The allegations appear to be based on a deliberate misinterpretation of the perspective of the image. The claims aim to incite distrust of the media and protesters and distract from the actual message of the protests.
The facts
The DPA has confirmed the authenticity of the photo and stated that no manipulation was carried out. The special perspective of the photo means that the water surface is obscured by the crowd, which explains Höcke's misinterpretation. “Mr. Höcke discovers the secrets of perspective. “It’s a little more difficult for him because so far he only knew his own,” commented a user on X.
Additional drone videos from various sources also confirm the reality of the crowd. video from NDR reporting on the demo, you can see
To get an idea of perspective shots, just take a look at Google Maps. Here too, the Alster cannot be seen, which is due to the angle of the picture.
And no, Google didn't manipulatively insert the people in front of it.
Sowing doubts against media
Höcke's allegations follow a familiar pattern of populists trying to advance their own agenda by casting doubt on media reports. This undermines trust in independent media and promotes a polarized and distrustful society.
Source: ZDF , Frankfurter Rundschau , Stern
This article was made possible by the combined strength of our community power in the Mimikama forum! A big thank you to all Mimikamas involved. You can see how we came to these conclusions here: Hamburg is getting up! Photos of the demo
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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 )