“Medienförderung-Artikel: Der Standard kassiert, Heute bekommt nichts”
Heute published an article contrasting state media subsidies received by Der Standard with a claim that Heute itself had received no press subsidy since its founding in 2004. The Österreichischer Presserat (Senate 3, selbständiges Verfahren, decision 22.05.2026) found a violation of Ehrenkodex Punkt 2.1 (Gewissenhaftigkeit und Korrektheit): at the hearing, Heute's own Chefredakteur acknowledged the paper had received 'digitale Transformationsförderung' and 'Qualitätsmedien-Förderung' in 2025 — a fact that directly contradicted the article's central claim. The Senate characterised this 'gravierende Verkürzung' (serious omission) as tantamount to reader deception. The case is classified under SPÖ because the article appeared in the context of Heute's broader campaign against SPÖ Media Minister Andreas Babler's advertising and subsidy reforms and was used to argue that the government was selectively financing political allies (Der Standard being perceived as SPÖ-sympathetic) while punishing boulevard media.
“Gratismedien-Kampagne gegen Medienminister Babler (Serienberichterstattung Okt–Dez 2025)”
Following SPÖ Media Minister Andreas Babler's decision in late 2025 to reduce government advertising placements in tabloid outlets and to attach quality criteria to state media subsidies, oe24 and Heute ran sustained campaigns against him. A central claim — 'Regierung zahlt 14 Millionen Euro an Fake-News-Seiten' — was documented as false by Kobuk.at (October 2025): the €14 million figure covered all public-sector social media spending (federal and regional government, state enterprises, municipalities), not the Babler government's ministry. Actual ministry-level spending on those platforms was approximately €194,000. Kobuk separately found that oe24's and Heute's own receipts from the same government sources (€118,000 and €196,000 respectively in H1 2025) were comparable, making the 'foreign fake news funding' framing additionally misleading. Additionally, the Presserat (Senate 3, decision 22.05.2026) found that a Heute article claiming Der Standard had received disproportionate state support while Heute received nothing since 2004 violated Punkt 2.1 of the Ehrenkodex: Heute's own Chefredakteur acknowledged at the hearing that the paper had received 'digitale Transformationsförderung' and 'Qualitätsmedien-Förderung' in 2025.
“Hier versickern die EU-Millionen – Österreichische Organisationen kassieren ohne Kontrolle”
The Kronen Zeitung ran a July 2025 front-page splash claiming to have 'uncovered' a secret list of Austrian NGOs receiving EU funds 'without control', then published seven further articles in the same month maintaining this framing. The Kobuk.at media-watch analysis (04.08.2025) found three central problems: (1) the claimed 'secret NGO funding list' was publicly available in EU financial transparency databases accessible to any internet user — the Krone had not 'uncovered' it; (2) the EU Court of Auditors report cited in the series had criticised the funding system's transparency mechanisms, not found evidence of misuse by the NGOs; (3) all eight articles relied primarily on FPÖ politicians (Petra Steger, Michael Schnedlitz) as key sources, with NGO responses marginalised. The Krone even self-identified as a campaign vehicle, boasting on July 6 of being a 'Vorreiter was erfolgreiche Kampagnen betrifft.' On August 26 the outlet jointly celebrated 'success' with FPÖ politicians. Kobuk classified the series as textbook campaign journalism: single-sourced, emotionally coded, targeting civil society as FPÖ electoral messaging.
“Medienversagen nach der Tragödie von Graz (Schulmassaker-Berichterstattung)”
Following the June 2025 Graz school shooting in which ten people were killed, AUF1 obtained videos from a traumatised 16-year-old student showing emergency responders and victims on stretchers, publishing them with headlines like 'Schrecklicher Anblick: Tote Schüler auf Rettungstragen aufgereiht.' Exxpress and the Kronen Zeitung spread the unconfirmed claim that school bullying (Mobbing) was the perpetrator's motive, with oe24 headlining 'Abschiedsbrief gefunden – Amokläufer fühlte sich gemobbt' before investigators had publicly identified any motive. Kobuk.at (12.06.2025) found three ethical violations across the outlets: graphic victim content violating protection of minors and the recently bereaved, rampant speculation presented as fact before investigations concluded, and excessive perpetrator focus risking copycat effects. The Österreichischer Presserat issued parallel Hinweise (non-binding cautions) to krone.at and oe24.at for publishing student evacuation footage. The case is classified under FPÖ as the party in government whose Innenminister bore responsibility for crisis management and whose media ecosystem (AUF1) most aggressively exploited the footage.
“Falschzitat von Vizekanzler Andreas Babler im Umlauf”
A fabricated quote circulating on Facebook and Telegram attributed to Vice Chancellor Andreas Babler (SPÖ) claimed he called Austrians 'the biggest lazybones of the nation' and demanded they work more. The APA-Faktencheck (published 05.06.2025) found the quote entirely invented: it does not appear in any public speech, press release, or broadcast, and Babler's spokeswoman confirmed 'diese Worte wurden nie geäußert'. The quote originated from a Telegram group the dpa had previously identified as serially fabricating false political statements attributed to known politicians. Babler had in fact advocated a 32-hour working week — the direct opposite of the quote's message. No outlet published a correction; the post continued to circulate.
“Evakuierungsvideo Schulattentat Graz (Berichterstattung Juni 2025)”
Following the June 2025 school shooting in Graz in which ten people were killed, krone.at and oe24.at published an evacuation video showing students filmed from behind as they fled the building. The Österreichischer Presserat issued Hinweise (cautions for minor violations) to both outlets. The Senate found the students were identifiable to a limited circle, were minors, and had just witnessed or heard the attack — constituting an extreme psychological stress situation. The Presserat acknowledged substantial public interest in covering a mass-casualty attack but found the evacuation video added no material information value, requiring it to yield to victim protection under Ehrenkodex Punkt 5. oe24's additional decision to overlay the clip with martial music was criticised as a separate aggravating element. Classified under FPÖ as the party in government whose Innenminister was responsible for the police response that dominated coverage framing.
“Neonazi-Zitat als 'Theodor Körner'-Zitat verbreitet (FPÖ-Umfeld)”
A quotation beginning 'Noch sitzt ihr da oben, ihr feigen Gestalten, vom Feinde bezahlt und dem Volke zum Spott' was widely circulated in Telegram and Facebook groups as a quote by poet Theodor Körner (1791–1813). The APA-Faktencheck (published 10.01.2025) found the attribution false: the text originates from 'Anklage', a poem by neo-Nazi author Renate Schütte (circa 1990), documented by dpa research and a copy held by the Berlin Centre for Antisemitism Research. The false attribution has been corrected by dpa since 2020. The quote has documented FPÖ-adjacent history: former FPÖ chairman Heinz-Christian Strache posted a modified version on Facebook in 2012; an Austrian army officer was suspended in 2021 for wearing the quote on a T-shirt in a video criticising COVID measures; and a Landesverwaltungsgericht OÖ ruling found that displaying the quote on a protest placard constituted dissemination of Nazi ideology. Circulating a neo-Nazi poem as a reputable historical citation allowed the political sentiment to spread without triggering anti-Nazi stigma.
“Spitals-Touristen kosten Milliarden (Serienberichterstattung zur FPÖ-Parlamentsanfrage)”
The Kronen Zeitung headlined that '22 million treatments' were provided to foreign nationals over ten years, amplifying an FPÖ parliamentary question. FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl then posted on Facebook that '22 million treatments' had been given to 'illegal migrants and immigrants who have often not paid a cent'. The profil faktiv fact-check found three compounding errors: (1) the figure counts individual medical services (e.g. each lab parameter counts separately), not hospital visits or treatments; (2) the 22 million represent 2.75% of all Austrian medical services 2015–2024, below the 4.8% population share of third-country nationals — meaning the group uses healthcare underproportionally; (3) the parliamentary question covered both irregular migrants and legal residents (including Turkish-heritage Austrians who pay into social insurance), so Kickl's 'not a cent' framing was false. No correction was issued by either Krone or FPÖ.
“Antisemitischer Übergriff während Demo in Wien”
On 1 December 2024, the Kronen Zeitung ran the headline 'Antisemitischer Übergriff während Demo in Wien' in a way that linked a FPÖ-supportive demonstration in Vienna's first district (protesting the non-commissioning of the FPÖ for government negotiations) to an antisemitic incident in Vienna-Leopoldstadt (where two youths snatched a hat from a 66-year-old Jewish man). The spatial and temporal juxtaposition in the article — with the connection only denied in the final paragraph — created the false impression that FPÖ demonstrators had committed the antisemitic act, when the two incidents were entirely unrelated. Presserat proceedings were not initiated but Austrian media watchdogs including ORF Etat identified the framing as potentially violating Punkt 2.1 (Korrektheit) of the Ehrenkodex. The case exemplifies how misleading juxtaposition can simultaneously damage two parties: creating guilt-by-association for FPÖ's base while also trivialising the genuine antisemitic incident by entangling it in a political frame.
“SPÖ als 'Anti-Kickl-Ampel'-Partner (Berichterstattung Koalitionsverhandlungen)”
The Kobuk.at analysis (19.02.2025) documented that Heute used the term 'Anti-Kickl-Ampel' in eight consecutive articles to describe the ÖVP-SPÖ-NEOS coalition negotiations begun in November 2024. The phrase — implying that the coalition's only purpose was to exclude Kickl — originated in FPÖ campaign communications; Heute adopted it as neutral description without attribution or quotation marks, thereby importing FPÖ framing of the SPÖ as a purely reactive coalition partner rather than a party governing on its own platform. Heute's simultaneous headline asymmetry (109 Babler mentions vs. 352 Kickl mentions in the same period, with Babler almost exclusively framed as a loser) was classified by Kobuk as coverage out of proportion to editorial news criteria. The profil faktiv fact-checker separately documented that Babler's Sommergespräch claims that the ÖVP had 'schleifengelassen' public transport were false (124 km of new rail laid), further reducing SPÖ's credibility in this period — illustrating the combined effect of unfavourable framing and factual error against one party.
“Briefwahl-Betrug bei der Nationalratswahl (Serienberichterstattung Sept 2024)”
In the weeks before the September 29, 2024 Nationalratswahl, FPÖ-adjacent online outlets AUF1 and Report24 (which share a business address and have documented FPÖ personnel ties per CORRECTIV research) ran repeated articles alleging that mail-in ballots (Briefwahlkarten) were being used to manipulate elections against the FPÖ. Report24 editor-in-chief Florian Machl described a 'magic trick' embedded in the postal voting system. The profil faktiv fact-check found no evidence: the Interior Ministry reported receiving no complaints about lost or manipulated ballots; Austrian election law requires all validity decisions to be taken collectively in electoral authorities and recorded in writing, making unilateral manipulation structurally impossible; and the final Briefwahl counts produced only minimal variation from interim results consistent with known demographics. Academic experts cited by profil described the narrative as designed to pre-emptively delegitimise a potential FPÖ loss.
“TikTok-Posting über ÖVP-Bilanz unter Nehammer”
A widely-shared TikTok post in the weeks before the September 2024 Nationalratswahl claimed Austria had the highest inflation rate in the EU under Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP), and that poverty and health system quality had deteriorated sharply. The APA-Faktencheck (03.09.2024) found all three central claims incorrect or unverifiable: Austria ranked 10th in the EU on inflation at 2.9% (July 2024), not first — Romania led at 5.8%; the EU Commission's 2023 health system report rated Austrian access as 'good'; and Statistik Austria data showed poverty-risk rates rose only 0.2 percentage points from 2021–2023, a change the Armutskonferenz itself described as statistically not significant. The post appeared in the high-attention pre-election period when all major parties faced social-media disinformation attacks.
“NEOS-Berichterstattung Nationalratswahl 2024 — Marginalisierung im Boulevard”
The Kobuk.at 'Anbiederung' study (19.02.2025) quantified stark party-visibility disparities in Heute's pre-election coverage: FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl received 352 headline mentions; SPÖ leader Babler received 109; NEOS leader Beate Meinl-Reisinger received disproportionately fewer. The study classified this imbalance as editorially unjustifiable given NEOS's similar polling position to SPÖ and eventual entry into government. The Österreichischer Presserat's 2024 annual report (Tätigkeitsbericht 2024) noted that boulevard outlets systematically underreported policy content from smaller parties, with NEOS consistently losing airtime to FPÖ-adjacent narratives in Heute, oe24 and to some extent Krone. No single Presserat ruling named NEOS specifically as the harmed party; the systematic underrepresentation is documented in the aggregated monitoring data. Classified as tone=negative because systematic invisibility in high-circulation outlets is functionally damaging for an election campaign.
“Wer löst das Migrationsproblem?”
The Kurier published a September 2024 article on migration illustrated with an ornamental graphic composed entirely of Arabic-calligraphy-style patterns made from sabres, brass knuckles, switchblades, and daggers. The Österreichischer Presserat (Senate 2, 2024) found a violation of Ehrenkodex Punkt 7 (Schutz vor Pauschalverunglimpfung und Diskriminierung): the article discussed migration and integration broadly, not only violent crime or terrorism, but the weaponised graphic implied that migration as such is linked to violence and crime, constituting an impermissible blanket defamation of all people who had migrated from Arab or Muslim-majority countries. The Senate distinguished this from the Kurier's separate front-page reference to Islamism (where weapons imagery was found acceptable): the interior article's scope was wider. The case is classified under FPÖ because the graphic exemplified the visual language used in FPÖ campaign materials in the weeks before the September 2024 Nationalratswahl; normalising that visual framing in a centrist newspaper amplified FPÖ narrative.
“Heute-Berichterstattung zur Nationalratswahl 2024 (Serienberichterstattung Aug–Jan)”
The media-watchdog Kobuk.at published a systematic analysis (19 February 2025) of Heute's election coverage between August 2024 and January 2025. FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl appeared 352 times in Heute's online headline — more than twice as often as krone.at and 150 times more than then-Chancellor Nehammer — always framed positively (Kickl's 'Großangriff', his campaign described as 'fehlerlos'). Heute adopted FPÖ terminology verbatim: 'Zwangssteuer', 'Verlierer-Koalition', 'Anti-Kickl-Ampel'. In one instance, Heute uncritically published a misleading FPÖ factsheet on immigrant crime that misidentified the top offender nationalities (listing Turkey, Afghanistan, Syria when Romania, Germany and Serbia ranked highest per official data). Kobuk documented that the outlet ran 61 articles about a single Syrian welfare case versus Krone's 30, with FPÖ politicians providing most quotes. Kobuk found the pattern consistent with editorial co-option rather than mere newsworthiness.
“FPÖ-nahe Onlineportale: Serienberichterstattung zugunsten FPÖ (Kampagnenmonitor 2024)”
Kobuk.at's Kampagnenmonitor documented across 2023–2024 that the ecosystem of FPÖ-adjacent online outlets (derstatus.at, AUF1, Report24, Info-direkt, unzensuriert.at) operated not merely as independent conservative outlets but as systematic amplifiers of FPÖ campaign messages, repeatedly republishing FPÖ press releases as news, presenting Herbert Kickl as uniquely competent and unjustly persecuted, and using CORRECTIV-debunked talking points (vaccine deaths, Great Replacement) without correction. The Austrian Verfassungsschutzbericht 2023 (cited in a 2025 parliamentary debate) identified AUF1, Info-direkt and Heimatkurier as spreading rechtsextrem content financially linked to the FPÖ. The Kobuk 'Anbiederung' study also found that Heute adopted FPÖ language from this ecosystem ('Zwangssteuer', 'Islamisierung', 'Bevölkerungsaustausch') showing an amplification path from far-right outlets into mass circulation titles. Classified under FPÖ because the systematic positive tone ran exclusively in favour of FPÖ politicians and against political opponents.
“Krankenkasse soll's zahlen: Rauch will Abtreibung wohl bis zur Geburt erlauben”
The FPÖ-affiliated online portal derstatus.at (led by former Wochenblick editor-in-chief Bernadette Conrads) claimed that Green Health and Social Minister Johannes Rauch wanted to permit abortions 'until birth' and have public health insurance cover them. The APA-Faktencheck (published 20.06.2024) found this incorrect: Rauch had proposed removing criminal penalties for abortion within the first three months of pregnancy only; the ministry's press office explicitly told APA that the criminal offence would still apply after the third month. The 'until birth' claim was a fabrication. The false claim spread virally on social media and Telegram, timed to the election campaign season before the September 2024 Nationalratswahl.
“FPÖ-Accounts verbreiten Wahlbetrugsgerüchte zur EU-Wahl 2024”
On and after EU election day on June 9, 2024, accounts in FPÖ-adjacent Telegram and Facebook groups spread claims that FPÖ ballot papers were being discarded during counting because FPÖ party observers had failed to attend polling stations. The APA-Faktencheck (published 11.06.2024) found this incorrect: Austrian ballot validity is determined collectively by electoral authorities with mandatory written records, making individual-worker manipulation legally and procedurally impossible; the Interior Ministry reported receiving zero complaints or allegations about the election; and the accounts spreading the claim deleted their posts and profiles within hours — a pattern the APA noted as characteristic of coordinated disinformation. FPÖ's own responsibility in not sending polling observers (a right that scales with a party's vote share from the previous election) was not disputed.
“Lena Schillings Kandidatur gerät in Turbulenzen”
In the final weeks before the June 2024 European Parliament election, derstandard.at published an article on Green EU top candidate Lena Schilling alleging she had spread serious rumours about people in her circle, based heavily on anonymous quotes. The Österreichischer Presserat (Senate 1, decision 28.06.2024, case 2024/136) found violations of Ehrenkodex Punkt 2.1 (accurate reporting) and Punkt 2.2 (anonymous quotation rules). The Senate found that numerous anonymous quotes — characterising Schilling as psychologically troubled and unfit — lacked any concrete factual basis and served purely to attack her character. It was the first Presserat decision specifically on anonymous-quotation-only character attacks against a politician, and the Senate acknowledged it was drawing a stricter line than previous case law. Der Standard argued the core factual reporting (about an Unterlassungserklärung over rumours) was legitimate, which the Presserat did not dispute; only the character-assessment-only anonymous quotes were found impermissible.
“Ehepaar mit strittigem Ruf (Causa Bohrn Mena / Schilling)”
Kronen Zeitung columnist Ida Metzger published an article about Veronika and Sebastian Bohrn Mena in the context of the Lena Schilling EU election campaign controversy, making allegations about the couple and their Stiftung COMÚN. The Österreichischer Presserat (Senate 3, case 2024/159, decision 13.09.2024) found a violation of Ehrenkodex Punkt 2.3 (Anhörung des Betroffenen): the article raised allegations against the couple and the foundation without granting them any opportunity to respond. The Bohrn Menas stated in response to the ruling that the sustained reputational damage to them and the foundation from media operating out of 'purely personal motivation or commercial interests' was illegitimate. The case arose in the charged context of the Green party's European election campaign.
“Grausamer Fund in Wien: Mädchen (14) tot / Missbrauchs-Krimi: Kind tot”
Following the March 2024 death of a 14-year-old girl in Vienna, krone.at, the Kronen Zeitung print edition, and oe24.at published articles that — without any evidentiary basis — suggested an asylum-seeker who had been with the girl had 'lured' her to his apartment, drugged her, and sexually abused her. A Vienna police Twitter post on the same day explicitly stated that content published by some media 'could not be confirmed' and that forensic examination found no indication of violence. The Österreichischer Presserat (Senate 2, selbständiges Verfahren, decision 31.01.2025) found violations of Ehrenkodex Punkt 5 (Persönlichkeitsschutz) for both outlets: the coverage imputed criminal responsibility for the girl's death to the asylum seeker through speculation, violating the presumption of innocence. The classified tone is negative toward the FPÖ's political outgroup (asylum seekers) while serving the FPÖ's crime-narrative campaign in the six months before the September 2024 Nationalratswahl.
“Raiffeisen-Serienberichterstattung 2021–2024 (Analyse Kobuk.at März 2024)”
Kobuk.at's March 2024 analysis of over 1,000 Kurier articles mentioning Raiffeisen across three years found a systematic pattern of disproportionate and overwhelmingly flattering coverage of the Kurier's majority owner. Raiffeisen's Obmann Erwin Hameseder received mentions on 76 days in print — versus 59 days combined across nine competing Austrian newspapers. The coverage amplified Raiffeisen's lobbying demands (e.g. against stricter mortgage credit rules in October 2022) as balanced market opinion; negative stories such as the Sberbank acquisition were covered 10+ days later than competitors. Kobuk also documented Hameseder's 2013 interview admission to calling the Kurier Chefredaktion to flag articles he considered unfair to Raiffeisen. The case is classified under ÖVP because Raiffeisen has historically provided core financial support to ÖVP networks and the coverage suppressed scrutiny of the Raiffeisen–ÖVP relationship at a time of active parliamentary inquiries by the Grünen into the Sberbank deal.
“Die Revolution frisst ihre Kinder – Journalisten müssen 'sauber' sein”
The print magazine 'Das Wien' (issue 04/February 2024) published an article about ORF journalist and then-Süddeutsche-Zeitung editor-in-chief Alexandra Föderl-Schmid who had briefly gone missing amid plagiarism allegations. The article described her suspected suicide attempt as a 'Posse' and 'oscarreife Inszenierung' (Oscar-worthy performance) and implied the disappearance was a deliberate distraction from plagiarism charges — for which no evidence existed. The Österreichischer Presserat (Senate 1, decision 14.01.2025) found violations of Ehrenkodex Punkt 2.1 (Genauigkeit), Punkt 5 (Persönlichkeitsschutz), and Punkt 12 (Suizidberichterstattung): characterising a suspected suicide attempt as theatrics was both a gross personality violation and a violation of the strict care standards governing suicide reporting. The case is classified under ÖVP because Föderl-Schmid had been a prominent target of ÖVP-adjacent media for her critical ORF reporting; 'Das Wien' circulates primarily in ÖVP-aligned Vienna bourgeois circles.
“Selbstjustiz: Mob prügelt Dieb tot”
oe24.at published a video showing a man with a bloodied face being restrained and beaten in what the site framed as vigilante justice. The Österreichischer Presserat (Senate 1, decision OTS0068, 23.02.2024) found violations of Ehrenkodex Punkt 5 (Persönlichkeitsschutz) and Punkt 6 (Intimsphäre): publishing footage of a man being beaten to death served only voyeuristic and sensationalist interests, adding no legitimate information value. The Senate noted the outlet had similarly published death videos after the 2020 Vienna terror attack (already ruled on) and that this formed part of a pattern. The case is classified under FPÖ because oe24's sensationalist crime framing — amplifying violence associated with migrants — functioned throughout 2023 as consistent editorial support for FPÖ's crime-and-migration campaign messaging; oe24 characteristically does not participate in Presserat proceedings.
“Ibiza-Oligarchin enttarnt: Das ist Straches Lockvogel”
oe24.at published the alleged full name and additional personal details (driving licence, home location) of the woman claimed to be the 'Ibiza oligarch's niece' who appeared in the 2019 video that brought down the ÖVP–FPÖ coalition government. The Österreichischer Presserat (Senate 3, decision 07.11.2023, case 2023/293) found a violation of Ehrenkodex Punkt 5 (Persönlichkeitsschutz): the woman had not been convicted of any crime and had not been publicly identified by any official body; her full publication violated her right to privacy regardless of the political significance of the underlying affair. oe24's publisher did not participate in the proceedings.
“Kickl-Sommergespräch 2023: fünf Falschbehauptungen ohne Widerspruch”
In the August 2023 ORF Sommergespräch, FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl made at least five statements that profil faktiv (published 25.08.2023) found false or misleading: (1) he attributed the Austrian tourism sector's labour shortage solely to 'failed pandemic policy', when WIFO economist Oliver Fritz confirmed the shortage pre-dated COVID by years; (2) he described the IPCC as a 'Glaubenskongregation' (religious congregation) claiming it said its own climate projections were scientifically unsubstantiated, which misrepresented IPCC methodology; (3) he described the Identitäre Bewegung as simply 'an NGO of the right' comparable to Amnesty International, omitting that the Verfassungsschutz assessed the organisation as rechtsextrem and that its key figure Martin Sellner had addressed a neo-Nazi gathering in Potsdam; (4) he downplayed the FPÖ expenses scandal (Spesenaffäre) as a 'Strache problem' while the Vienna Staatsanwaltschaft listed Dominik Nepp, Harald Vilimsky, and two Bundesgeschäftsführer as co-accused; (5) energy cost claims were partially misleading. The ORF moderator did not rebut any of the five points in broadcast.
“Facebook-Posts von FPÖ-Politikern: 7 von 10 Flüchtlinge können weder lesen noch schreiben”
FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl and FPÖ Lower Austria state leader Udo Landbauer posted on Facebook on 24 August 2023 that 'seven of ten' refugees in Austria could 'neither read nor write' — with Kickl adding they 'cannot read or write even in their own mother tongue.' The CORRECTIV.Faktencheck (published 31.08.2023) found this incorrect: the underlying ÖIF data covered only asylum and subsidiary protection beneficiaries recognised in 2022 who attended ÖIF-funded German courses — not all refugees. Of the 70% flagged as having literacy needs, roughly half (49.6%) were 'Zweitschriftlernende' who can read and write in non-Latin scripts (Arabic, Cyrillic etc.). The actual rate of functional illiteracy was approximately 35%, not 70%. exxpress.at amplified the false version without correction. FPÖ's parliamentary club, when contacted by CORRECTIV, cited boulevard outlets that had already spread the false figure, rather than the original data.
“Flüchtlinge können weder lesen noch schreiben: Exxpress amplifies FPÖ Falschzahl”
Exxpress.at republished and amplified the claim — originally made by Herbert Kickl and Udo Landbauer (FPÖ) on Facebook on 24 August 2023 — that 'seven of ten' refugees in Austria were unable to read or write. The CORRECTIV.Faktencheck (31.08.2023) found the figure wrong on two grounds: the ÖIF source covered only 2022-recognised beneficiaries attending funded German courses, not all refugees, and half the '70%' flagged were 'Zweitschriftlernende' literate in Arabic, Cyrillic or other non-Latin scripts — the true functional illiteracy rate was approximately 35%. Kobuk.at separately noted that Exxpress routinely publishes false health and migration claims that 'remain simply standing' without correction. This case documents Exxpress's specific amplification role: the CORRECTIV team noted the FPÖ parliamentary club — when contacted — cited boulevard outlets that had already spread the false figure, rather than the primary ÖIF data, creating a circular false-citation loop.
“Armin Wolf: 'Dies ist definitiv das Ende seiner Karriere'”
oe24.at published the headline 'Armin Wolf: This is definitively the end of his career' without clearly identifying it as a fraud scam originating from a fake Facebook post by 'Radio Mukteshwo', which used Wolf's image as clickbait for a financial scam. The Österreichischer Presserat (Senate 1, self-initiated proceedings, decision published 19.01.2024) found a violation of Ehrenkodex Punkt 2.1: users reading only the headline or preview would conclude Wolf's career had actually ended, which was false. The Presserat characterised this as deliberate clickbaiting. The article remained online unmodified after the ruling. The case is listed under Grünen because Wolf's prominent ZiB 2 interviews with Grünen politicians (Werner Kogler, Leonore Gewessler) are a recurring target of FPÖ-adjacent media; oe24 is classified as antagonistic to the broadcaster.
“Als Babler noch Schulkreuze anzünden wollte”
The Kronen Zeitung published a headline claiming SPÖ leader Andreas Babler had 'wanted to burn school crosses', based on a 1996 satirical piece Babler wrote for the Socialist Youth newspaper 'direkt'. The APA-Faktencheck (published 27 May 2024) found the Krone article misleading: the disputed passage referred ambiguously to either crosses or condoms (Babler was criticising then-Bishop Kurt Krenn's stance on contraception), and the Nationalbibliothek copy showed no unambiguous call for burning crosses. The claim that Babler called for 'nailing people to crosses' — widely repeated — was traced to a false transcription of the original. The ÖVP then amplified the misleading Krone framing on X without correction. APA classified the central factual claim as 'weder be- noch widerlegbar' (neither verifiable nor refutable), making the Krone headline's certainty itself misleading.
“Schleichwerbung-Artikel (Seiten 14–15 OE24, 23.11.2022)”
The Österreichischer Presserat (Senate 2, case 2022/429, decision 12.05.2023) found that articles published on pages 14–15 of the print edition of OE24 on 23 November 2022 violated Ehrenkodex Punkt 3 (Unterscheidbarkeit von Werbung und redaktionellem Inhalt) and Punkt 4 (Einflussnahme Außenstehender auf redaktionelle Inhalte): the articles were commercially-shaped advertorials presented as independent news, and the influence of external financial interests affected editorial content in a way that could cause false information or suppress essential context. The ruling is consistent with the broader WKStA documentation of a systemic Inseratenkorruption model at oe24. oe24 did not participate in the Presserat proceedings. The case is classified under ÖVP because oe24's editorial operation under Wolfgang Fellner — at the period of the alleged paid-coverage arrangement — primarily generated favourable ÖVP/Kurz coverage for commercial advertising consideration.
“Berichterstattung Wien-Anschlag: Videoberichterstattung 2020 (Presserat-Entscheidung 2022/293, Nov 2023)”
Separate from the February 2021 Presserat ruling on the same 2020 attack coverage (already in corpus as at-mr-002), the Presserat issued a second linked decision on the Ibiza-follow-on video publication: case 2023/293 (07.11.2023) concerned oe24 publishing unredacted personal details of the Ibiza 'Oligarchin' (already documented as at-mr-004). The broader enforcement context is that oe24 and Krone's attack video publication — which generated 1,500+ complaints — resulted in Presserat decisions that Wolfgang Fellner publicly refused to comply with, threatening to withdraw from Presserat jurisdiction. Der Standard Etat section (25.02.2021) documented Fellner's threat to sue the Presserat and called it a constitutional moment for Austrian press self-regulation. The Presserat Senate 2 decision 2020/293 (published 25.02.2021) explicitly stated that neither outlet had any editorial justification for publishing footage of a dying crime victim. Classification under FPÖ: the attack was carried out by an FPÖ-associated perpetrator and coverage was heavily instrumentalised in political debate about the then ÖVP-Grünen government's security record.
“Terrorberichterstattung Wien-Anschlag (Videoveröffentlichungen 2.–3. November 2020)”
Following the November 2, 2020 Vienna terrorist attack, oe24.at and krone.at published two videos: one showing the murder of a female bystander, another showing a police officer being shot and collapsing. Both videos were published despite a police request not to disseminate attack footage. The Österreichischer Presserat (Senate 2, decision February 2021) issued rulings against both outlets for severe violations of Ehrenkodex Punkt 5 (Persönlichkeitsschutz) and Punkt 6 (Intimsphäre). The Senate found no legitimate public information interest that would justify the publications, calling them acts of voyeurism. Wolfgang Fellner (oe24 publisher) threatened to sue the Presserat and withdraw from its jurisdiction. Over 1,500 complaints were filed — the highest count in Presserat history at the time. The case is listed under ÖVP as the governing party bearing responsibility for the security response that was prominently covered.
“Grüne vergleicht Asylpolitik mit dem Holocaust / Grüne Korun vergleicht Asylpolitik mit Holocaust”
oe24.at and krone.at both headlined that Green MP Alev Korun had compared Austria's asylum policy to the Holocaust. The Österreichischer Presserat (Senate 1) found this a violation of Ehrenkodex Punkt 2.1 (conscientious and correct reporting): Korun's original tweet compared today's government to the countries that in 1938 accepted Jewish refugees who had fled using forged papers, suggesting the current government would reject such asylum seekers. The outlets stripped this nuanced historical comparison to the bare claim that she equated the government with the Nazi extermination programme, which was false. The case is classified under FPÖ because the article's effect was to delegitimise a Greens MP who had been criticising the then ÖVP–FPÖ government's asylum policy.
“Beinschab-Österreich-Tool: bezahlte Berichterstattung zugunsten Kurz (Serienberichterstattung 2016–2020)”
The Wirtschafts- und Korruptionsstaatsanwaltschaft (WKStA) investigation into the ÖVP Inseratenkorruption — supported by Sabine Beinschab's seven confessional interviews and internal chats — established that from 2016 the ÖVP-Kurz team allegedly paid for favourable surveys and coverage in Mediengruppe Österreich/oe24 using disguised Finanzministerium budget lines totalling approximately €587,400 for 'studies' between 2016 and 2020. A peer-reviewed study (Eberl et al., International Journal of Press/Politics, 2024) found a 50–100% spike in Kurz mentions on oe24 after the alleged arrangement, unexplained by prior trends or comparator outlets (Heute, Krone). The Finanzprokuratur joined the proceedings in October 2024 claiming €2.75 million in damages from key defendants. This case is the sole documented instance in Austrian post-war history of alleged state-budget-funded positive press coverage for a sitting party leader that has been corroborated by both academic content analysis and prosecutorial documents.
“oe24-Berichterstattung über Sebastian Kurz (Serienberichterstattung 2016–2021)”
A peer-reviewed academic study (Eberl et al., The International Journal of Press/Politics, 2024) analysed 222,000 articles from 18 Austrian outlets between 2012 and 2021 using automated content analysis and difference-in-differences econometrics. It found that after the alleged Beinschab–Österreich-Tool quid pro quo arrangements between the Kurz team and oe24 (beginning around 2016), Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) was mentioned 50–100% more frequently on oe24 than prior trends and comparable outlets (Heute, Krone) would predict. No comparable visibility spike was found for other politicians. The study also found oe24 reported slightly more negatively on Kurz's political rivals after 2016. The study explicitly does not adjudicate criminal liability but documents a statistically significant editorial deviation consistent with paid-for positive coverage. The Wirtschafts- und Korruptionsstaatsanwaltschaft (WKStA) is separately investigating the alleged Inseratenkorruption arrangement.