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Satire in political reporting? The ARD editorial team tried to do this and made a joke about Olaf Scholz on Twitter. It didn’t go down well with everyone.
Berlin – After the federal election a week ago, things got down to business: On Sunday (October 3rd) the Greens, FDP, Union and SPD met in teams of two for an exploratory marathon. SPD chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz hopes for a traffic light coalition with the FDP and the Greens. He wants to send the Union into the opposition. He also explained this to the international press. But the ARD reporting about it caused astonishment among some viewers.
In the ARD program “Report from Berlin” on Sunday, in addition to German unity, the review of the political events since the federal election was the subject of discussion. “It has to be a bit of fun”, thought the editorial team and advertised their show on Twitter. But with that she amazed some of her followers.
ARD broadcast with a joke about Olaf Scholz: “Sis is their result”
The editors announced the topics of the “Report from Berlin” in a video clip on Twitter. Also included: the back and forth of the Union about its participation in a new government and the election victory of Olaf Scholz and the SPD. But there is one scene where Twitter users have to be amazed: The video shows Olaf Scholz making a statement in English on the federal election to the international press.
The astonishing thing: the subtitles are written in very poor English. “I sink the people in Schermany want the Christian Democratic Union in the opposition. Sis is their result now and what they decides during the election, “it says. Does the editors make fun of Olaf Scholz Englisch?
The automatic subtitle probably doesn’t work that well 😜 pic.twitter.com/EK30Koa8qs
– Jonas (@sleepless_jones) October 3, 2021
ARD satire video polarized on Twitter
Some Twitter users are confused and suspect that this is an automatic subtitle bug. The ARD editorial team immediately clears up this mistake: “It’s not automatic,” she writes. Under the post, the editors explain the video: In the contribution, the political events of the past week would be viewed with a “wink”.
The ARD broadcast is practicing satire – not only on Twitter, but also on television. However, the subtitles could not be seen there. In any case, the campaign was well received by some Twitter users: “The subtitles caught me freezing,” writes one user. Others, on the other hand, find the editorial team’s behavior irrelevant: “Does the report from Berlin apply for the next Comedy Prize? I would have expected a bit more objectivity, ”it says, for example. One user even asks Olaf Scholz to apologize: “Be decent, apologize and delete that.” The editorial team does not seem to be planning to do this, however. (sf)