Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) has caused confusion with statements about allegedly successful interventions in the "Bild" newspaper.
In the ZDF talk show “Maybrit Illner”, Lauterbach said on Thursday that he had helped to remove the “Bild” article “The Lockdown Makers” from the network.
A Springer spokesman said on Friday that there was no contact between Lauterbach and “Bild”.
The contribution was not deleted, but can still be accessed.
Springer was "confused and amazed" about the statement.
The article has been causing discussion and criticism for days, especially from academia. In the text, the scientists Dirk Brockmann from the Berlin Humboldt University (HU), Viola Priesemann from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization and Michael Meyer-Herrmann from the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research are called "lockdown makers".
The HU criticized the suggestion to readers that scientists are responsible for political decisions.
This type of journalistic presentation is irresponsible.
In a live interview on Bild TV, Lauterbach was asked about his statement on ZDF on Friday.
He said he did not want to give any details, but he had campaigned for "Bild" to have the post disappear from the homepage.
When the “Bild” interviewer pointed out that the text was still online, Lauterbach reacted with amazement.
The German Press Council is examining the initiation of proceedings because of the criticism of the article.
The press council currently has 92 complaints about the article.