Press Council partially approves complaint against “Republik”
Published: Thursday, Dec 21st 2023, 11:10
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The Press Council has partially upheld a complaint against the online magazine "Republik". The "Republik" had reported on the "world's most wanted swimming pool tenant" and did not sufficiently protect the man from identification, according to the Press Council.
Although the man's name was not mentioned, the name of the bathing establishment and the municipality were, the Press Council stated in its decision published on Thursday. This made it easy for the residents of the municipality and its surroundings to recognize who the man was.
However, identifying reporting is only permitted if the person appears publicly in connection with a topic or if there is an overriding public interest in the naming of the person. In the opinion of the Press Council, none of these conditions were met.
According to the "Republik" article, the man is wanted by the US justice system for property offenses. He came to the Press Council because he is "neither a politician nor any other person of public interest". The man is also considering a civil lawsuit.
"Republic" feared risk of confusion
The online magazine argued that the man had already been named several times by his full name. There were numerous media articles in Switzerland and abroad about his allegedly serious white-collar criminal activities. The "Republik", on the other hand, had not only omitted the full name, but also the initials. The text refers to the Badi tenant as "X".
However, if the "Republic" had omitted the name of the bathing establishment, it would have created a considerable risk of confusion. The suspicion could have fallen on any tenant of a bathing establishment on Lake Zurich or in Switzerland.
©Keystone/SDA
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