On Easter Monday, the Tagesschau broadcast a questionable report from Iran during its main news programme at 8 pm. This report is suspected of being Iranian propaganda, based on numerous indications.
The broadcaster ARD admits that it allowed the Iranian regime to foist a fabricated video report on it. The report purports to show a teacher named Sepideh, who is said to be 45 years old. According to the report, she lives in a small basement flat. What is striking, however, is that the ‘small basement flat’, which is rather spartanly furnished, is fitted with a heavy, modern high-security door (manufacturer: Alem ECO, cost: approx. 300 euros, equivalent to three months’ salary in Iran). The door has several modern locks and bolts.
The door could be an indication that the flat is not the ‘small basement flat’ of a simple teacher, but rather a ‘safe house’ for the Iranian secret service.
Lawyer Emrah Erken, for example, points out that the report was written by activist Tereza Bora, who is based in Istanbul, far removed from the action. Originally, however, the report had been attributed to correspondent Katharina Willinger – who, by her own account, lives in Istanbul – who reports on Turkey and Iran for ARD. Erken bluntly called the report “fake news”.
Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit publicly asked Tagesschau on X where the story originated.
Another clue suggesting that this might be Iranian propaganda is the fact that 45-year-old Sepideh is calmly walking her dog – without a headscarf. For women, it is life-threatening to step outside without a headscarf in the Iranian capital, Tehran. It becomes even more dangerous, of course, if you are accompanied by a camera crew, which attracts even more attention.
In line with these doubts, the Iranian woman speaks critically of the attacks by the US and Israel: “I can see the doubts growing. Many now believe that, in the end, nothing good will come of this for us people in Iran,” she says in English.
Another oddity: on Tuesday morning’s Morgenmagazin (moma), the report is broadcast again, though without the dog-walking scene in the park, focusing instead on Donald Trump’s threat to attack Iran’s infrastructure. Furthermore, the report is not credited here to Katharina Willinger, but to Tereza Bora, who is more than 2,000 kilometres away from Tehran as the crow flies. She is clearly not on the ground, which raises the question of who produced the video and passed the footage on to her. Has the ARD fallen for a targeted propaganda campaign by the Iranian regime?
The fact is that this statement fits with the broadcaster’s highly critical, even hostile, view of the war in Iran. ARD correspondent Katharina Willinger has just told broadcaster SWR that the situation is taking its toll on people in Iran; many are unable to flee the country, yet cannot get to their places of work either. She added that people are opposed to the regime, but also to the bombings: “I sense a growing concern and fear about what might be in store for them in the coming days and weeks.”
The teacher, Sepideh, is also given ample opportunity to complain about US President Donald Trump, who is making threats against all Iranians and doing so in a “very condescending manner”.
It is also puzzling that the Iranian woman introduced to us as Sepideh, the teacher, is seen in the video scrolling through Trump’s tweets and posts on Truth Social on her smartphone, even though the internet in Iran has been down for weeks.
The fact is that this statement fits with the broadcaster’s highly critical, even hostile, view of the war in Iran. ARD correspondent Katharina Willinger has just told broadcaster SWR that the situation is taking its toll on people in Iran; many are unable to flee the country, yet cannot get to their places of work either. She added that people are opposed to the regime, but also to the bombings: “I sense a growing concern and fear about what might be in store for them in the coming days and weeks.”
The teacher, Sepideh, is also given ample opportunity to complain about US President Donald Trump, who is making threats against all Iranians and doing so in a “very condescending manner”.
It is also puzzling that the Iranian woman introduced to us as Sepideh, the teacher, is seen in the video scrolling through Trump’s tweets and posts on Truth Social on her smartphone, even though the internet in Iran has been down for weeks.
The broadcaster has not yet responded to enquiries from our partner portal NIUS. As soon as a reply is received, it will be published here.