For a day and a night, those around her and her editorial team feared for Alexandra Föderl-Schmid. Then came the redeeming news: the journalist who had been reported missing was found alive.
The industry service “Medieninsider” had previously accused the deputy editor-in-chief of the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” of copying passages of text.
This was followed by a campaign by the right-wing populist medium “Nius”. The website commissioned a reviewer to examine Föderl-Schmid's doctoral thesis. He now claims that the journalist did not clearly mark sources in her dissertation.
After several “Nius” publications about this, Alexandra Föderl-Schmid became the target of hate comments online. In the podcast you can hear how this came about. Why a report about a journalist spurs right-wing trolls and what mechanisms are behind it.
In the weekly podcast “Inside Austria”, SPIEGEL and STANDARD look together at the big and small scandals in Austria. Together with journalists from both editorial teams, we reconstruct cases and events that affect the country. We look into the political abyss, follow the investigations surrounding the Sebastian Kurz case and his ÖVP and provide information about an important Austrian topic of the week.
Are you thinking about taking your own life? Talk to other people about it. Here you will find offers of help – including anonymous ones – in seemingly hopeless situations. By phone, chat, email or in person.