Thursday, 17 April
Bild apologises for smear campaign against Berlin policewoman
Two German tabloids have issued front-page apologies after falsely accusing a Berlin policewoman of drugging and sexually abusing two men. On Thursday, both Bild and B.Z., owned by the Springer group, admitted their reporting on Judy S was entirely fabricated and paid her a record €150,000 in damages.
The retraction came as part of an out-of-court settlement requiring both newspapers to publicly acknowledge the falsehoods. Their original articles claimed Judy S was a transgender woman who made use of a penis pump while drugging and assaulting two men during sex in her flat – all of these allegations that were completely untrue.
The motivation behind the defamatory coverage appears to have been political. At the time of publication, Judy S was a candidate in an internal election within the German Police Union (DPolG). The articles were penned by a journalist with known ties to the DPolG, raising questions about the timing and intent behind the smear. That journalist is no longer employed by Bild, and police have reportedly launched an internal investigation.
