Exclusive: Tele Top convicted of personality infringement

Sheep-throwing scene from the original video, which was not shown in the disputed Tele-Top report.

Last October, a sheep farmer from Herrenhof in Thurgau made national headlines. A video showed the farmer throwing his sheep over a fence, dragging animals through the barn by their legs and even hitting them with a stick. Against this backdrop, the Association Against Animal Factories (VgT) held a rally in Frauenfeld in November 2018, which was reported on Tele Top News.

BDP cantonal councillor Roland Huber also had his say in the report, saying that he found the demonstration "completely out of place". He would have expected a little more objective judgment from animal rights activist Erwin Kessler, the politician said into the camera. According to Huber, a serious examination of the case would not reveal any evidence of cruelty to animals. Tele Top then showed a 12-second video sequence in which the farmer was seen hitting something. However, close-ups then showed that the sheep farmer was only hitting a fence with a rope. This specific recording was a re-enacted scene and was not from the original film in which the farmer was seen beating his sheep.

In the report on the Winterthur private broadcaster, Huber also said that the accusations against the alleged animal abuser from Herrenhof were "ridiculous". The off-camera voice explained that the actions of the animal rights activists were nothing more than "damage to reputation" for Cantonal Councillor Roland Huber. Kessler also had his say in the objectionable contribution. However, he thought he was talking about the original video where the sheep thrower could be seen in action. Instead, Tele Top showed a sequence from the archive consisting of the original video and the re-enacted scene.

Erwin Kessler took the local broadcaster to court in January because of this news article. The two parties have now been served with the judgment. The Münchwilen court has ruled in favor of the radical animal rights activist across the board. In the verdict, which the Advertising Week The report states that the Tele-Top report suggested that Erwin Kessler was spreading lies by groundlessly accusing the farmer of criminal behavior. The private TV station's news program also suggested that Kessler had made himself liable to prosecution by accusing the sheep farmer of cruelty to animals. 

The ruling states that Tele Top unlawfully violated Erwin Kessler's personality with the report "by inserting a trivializing, re-enacted video sequence".

The animal lover from eastern Switzerland had also complained about the Tele Top program to the Independent Complaints Authority for Radio and Television. Kessler's complaint was upheld at the end of March. The UBI came to the conclusion that the Tele Top audience was unable to form its own opinion on the events surrounding the Herrenhof sheep thrower that were the subject of the report. The ruling has now become legally binding.

"This means that the court has now independently ruled twice that Tele Top manipulated the viewers or that the entire report was manipulative," says Kessler. Advertising Week wants to know from the rebellious animal lover whether he now feels satisfied with the new ruling by the Münchwilen court? "It was never about revenge. I simply had to fight for my reputation as President of the VgT because people keep trying to get me down with methods like this."

He would never take such accusations lightly. On the contrary, for his organization, the Verein gegen Tierfabriken VgT, such accusations are a threat to its existence: "Imagine if people believed that, then no one would want to donate to us anymore."

Tele Top is not prepared to accept the Münchwilen district court's guilty verdict. They are in the process of taking the case further, says Tele Top editor-in-chief Kathrin Röder to the Advertising Week. "The judgment is incomprehensible to us." The editorial director continues to describe the report objected to by the court and the UBI as balanced. "We gave both sides the same platform so that viewers could form their own opinion." However, the journalist admits that the use of the archive material with the re-enacted scene was wrong. However, this was already acknowledged in November when a correction was broadcast.
However, this correction was not enough for the animal rights activist. "Mr. Kessler demanded a one-sided platform where he could have expressed his opinion without contradiction. We denied him this for reasons of objectivity, which is why he then went to court," Röder continues.

Kathrin Röder, Editor-in-Chief Tele Top (Image: zVg)

The VgT President, who repeatedly defends himself in court and has already taken most media companies to court once, does not want to be described as litigious. "Quarrelsome is the wrong word," says Kessler firmly. "I only fight back when someone makes a false claim or slanders us." If someone is right to defend themselves, you can't call them litigious or argumentative.

The head of the VgT has now also filed a personal complaint against the BDP cantonal councillor who was Kessler's antipode in the Tele Top report. Referring to the ongoing proceedings, the politician does not want to say anything. However, the first verdicts in the proceedings handled by the Münchwilen district court "raise questions". Huber has since submitted his response. However, a hearing date has not yet been set at the Münchwilen district court.