“Bild” editor-in-chief apologizes: Fuck AfD, um not

There is a lot of discussion about the relationship between Springer and especially the Bild newspaper and the AfD. Those who make things easy for themselves, like Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU), see Springer primarily as a personal opponent. Merz is sticking to the “legend that he is being persecuted by Axel Springer Verlag,” said Bild editor-in-chief Marion Horn in an interview with the media service Kress Pro a week ago.

And promptly delivered a small sensation. Because she also declared that her attitude was “Fuck AfD”. But although this announcement clearly deserves attention and respect, the media bubble, which is otherwise not at a loss for a word, remained surprisingly silent.

In the interview conducted at eye level with Kress-Pro editor-in-chief Markus Wiegand, Horn literally says: "There's a poster hanging in my office. There's a sports plane pulling an advertisement behind it. It says: 'Fuck AfD.' That's my attitude."

The Bild editorial team is also clear about what they say, what their demands and their attitude are, but at the same time they are also “uncertain,” says Horn at Kress. And then adds self-critically: "Do I want there to be just one photo of me with Ms. Weidel? No. Is that unjournalistic? Unfortunately, yes."

Now Bild has always claimed to know what the people want. And the trend is to the right, which is why, according to Horn, “there is no longer a conference in which we don’t discuss back and forth and say: It now sounds as if we want the AfD to be in power.”

Which sums up Bild's schizophrenia. The leadership may be against the AfD. The paper still continues to run the party's business. That is also unjournalistic. Horn's personal clear edge at least caused a reaction. Her failed predecessor Julian Reichelt fumed in the defamation portal Nius about the “absolutely fatal, politically propagandistic activist statement”. For others, the fired Bild editor-in-chief doesn't have so many adjectives left.

But why did Horn suddenly apologize on LinkedIn at the beginning of this week for a “mistake” regarding the Kress interview and write that she “allowed herself to be provoked”? And “unfortunately with this stupid saying that Antifa has hijacked for themselves.” Is she backing down because as head of the picture she has to see things differently?

“Let it be provoked” sounds nice because, according to Kress, the interview was officially authorized and was presented to Horn again and approved by her. However, it must have taken a while. Oh, and the plane with “Fuck AfD” doesn’t exist either. “There is no poster in the editorial office with this sentence,” said Horn on LinkedIn. It's a shame actually.

“That sounds somehow made up or like an AI hallucination,” says the roommate. “But you can’t blame the AI ​​for everything!”