Criticism of "heute" report: Merz portrayed in the wrong light on ZDF? Broadcaster defends itself

Merkur Criticism of "heute" report: Merz portrayed in the wrong light on ZDF? Broadcaster defends itself Jekaterina Jalunina • 17 hours • 2 minutes reading time Report on party conference speech A compilation of a "heute" report on the CDU party conference shows audience reactions that did not actually take place. A lawyer believes this is illegal. Berlin - ZDF is currently under criticism after the "heute" news report from February 3 raised allegations of possible distorted reporting. The focus is on an excerpt from the CDU party conference, at which chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz spoke to around 950 delegates and in his speech clearly distinguished the AfD from his party. Merz explained that the AfD represented irreconcilable positions, particularly with regard to Western ties and NATO. The CDU chairman said verbatim: "The AfD is our most important opponent in this election campaign. We want to make it small again, we want to make it a marginal phenomenon where it belongs.” In the ZDF report, this statement is followed by a hard cut in which the camera pans to the audience. Groups of party members can be seen who are apparently following Merz’s speech in silence and with little interest. A spokeswoman comments: “Defiant approval also from the delegates from West and East.” ZDF suspected of manipulation: “heute” report draws criticism – broadcaster defends itself A video distributed on the X platform, however, shows a completely different picture. In the live broadcast by the Phoenix television station, delegates can be seen standing up after Merz’s statements, applauding and holding up signs with the words “firewall” and the CDU slogan “Back to the front”. Applause broke out in the exhibition hall in Berlin when Merz again underlined his rejection of cooperation with the AfD: “And there are no ifs and no buts. There is nothing we can do together. Nothing at all.” Accusations of manipulation against ZDF because of Merz report – broadcaster defends itself The ZDF reacted to the accusations and firmly rejected them. The broadcaster explained that the short excerpt “took the reporting on the CDU party conference out of the context of the TV report and was thereby fundamentally distorted.” The broadcaster pointed out that the cheering for Merz’s speech was included in the report. If you watch the entire ZDF report, the cheering is shown at the beginning of the report, accompanied by the reporter’s words: “Standing applause, demonstrative support.” Even after the excerpt broadcast on X, several CDU delegates speak out, speaking positively about Merz and his distancing himself from the AfD. The critics of the ZDF, however, are likely to see the report as confirmation. The public broadcaster also came under criticism again on Friday. The reason for this was the audience during the “Schlagabtausch” program. This group is said to have been made up partly of students from the more left-leaning universities FU and HU Berlin, who then applauded the positions of the left-of-centre parties. In this case too, ZDF defended itself against the accusations.