According to reports, a German news reporter named Susanna Ohlen has been suspended for pretending to help with cleanup efforts after a devastating flood.
Ohlen was secretly recorded by a bystander smearing mud on her face and clothes before suggesting she lent a helping hand during a news segment called “Guten Morgen Deutschland” on RTL.
The article featuring the news segment which RTL published titled, “Cleaning up after the flood: RTL presenter Susanna Ohlen lends a hand in Bad Muenstereifel,” has been deleted.
A spokesperson for RTL reportedly made a statement saying they have suspended the reporter for deceiving the public, “Our reporter’s approach clearly contradicts journalistic principles and our own standards. We, therefore, gave her leave of absence on Monday after we heard about it.”
Ohlen has since apologized on Instagram and gave her reasons of why she would do such a thing, “After I had already privately helped out in the region on previous days, on that morning I was ashamed to appear on camera in front of the other aid workers with a clean upper body,” she stated. “So I unthinkingly smeared mud on my clothing. This should never have happened to me as a journalist. It happened to me as a person whose heart was touched by the suffering of all those affected.”
According to AP, the severe flooding in Germany and nearby countries have claimed the lives of 200 people, with at least 150 still unaccounted for. The economic costs and clean-up efforts are in the billions.
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Artikel: "Aufräumarbeiten nach Flut: RTL-Moderatorin Susanna Ohlen packt in Bad Münstereifel mit an"
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