Angry speech in the election campaign: A fake Strack-Zimmermann poster in circulation?

The common claim

An election poster by FDP politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann is making the rounds on the Internet, which shows her asking “Does your boss know what you are doing here?” This poster is part of their election advertising for the European elections. However, the authenticity of the poster is controversial and requires close scrutiny as it appeared in the context of a controversial discussion during a campaign event.

The examination of the facts

The campaign poster in question with the controversial statement is a fake. The official poster of the FDP originally shows the slogan “ It doesn’t matter. It's about Europe ", underlining the European message of the party and its candidate. This was confirmed by the FDP press office. The manipulation of the image into a poster with a question taken out of context suggests a satirical or manipulative intent. The forgery can also be recognized by spelling errors that would be unlikely in official campaign materials. A location comparison of the poster via Google Street View also confirms the location of the original poster in Wilhelmshaven.

Questions and answers about posters in the election campaign

Question 1: Is the controversial poster part of Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann's official election campaign?
Answer 1: No, the poster is a fake and not part of the official election campaign.

Question 2: What does the real election poster say?
Answer 2: On the real election poster there are the sentences “It doesn’t matter. It's about Europe."

Question 3: How was it confirmed that the poster was fake?
Answer 3: The FDP press office confirmed the content of the real poster and a location comparison via Google Street View showed the original poster.

Question 4: What could be the purpose of counterfeiting the poster?
Answer 4: The fake could be intended to satirically highlight the heated debate during the campaign event.

Question 5: How should fake campaign material be dealt with?
Answer 5: It is important to remain critical of suspicious material, verify the source and rely on confirmed information from official channels.

Conclusion

This case shows how important media literacy is in times of political campaigns. Users should always question the origin and authenticity of political material and rely on verified sources. It is important not to be misled by manipulated content and to actively search for reliable information.

Source: dpa

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