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Did the hawks blink first? | 49 comments (49 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)
This will not end well... (none / 0)
German row over middle finger of Varoufakis takes absurd turn

Host Jan Böhmermann claimed his team had used digital editing software to insert the indecent gesture. Then it showed another clip it said was the original, in which Mr Varoufakis made the same remarks but without the gesture. A regretful Mr Böhmermann told his audience they were behind the "fake" Stinkefinger footage.

"Sorry Mr Varoufakis, we won't do it again," he said

It didn't take long, however, until the fake was itself revealed as a fake.

The original footage of the event does appear to show Mr Varoufakis showing the Stinkefinger. The finger-free "original" as shown on Neo Magazin Royale was, in fact, the doctored one. Still following?



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by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Fri Mar 20th, 2015 at 05:49:13 PM EST
Re: This will not end well... (none / 0)
Discussed in detail here.

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.
by DoDo on Fri Mar 20th, 2015 at 06:31:09 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: This will not end well... (4.00 / 2)

Böhmermann falls for fake moderator.

by generic on Fri Mar 20th, 2015 at 09:40:28 PM EST
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Re: This will not end well... (none / 1)
More meta:

(For those not speaking German: in this version of the new Downfall video, the fake subtitles turn the man with the laugh convulsion into Böhmermann's cutter who laughs about the stupid reactions.)

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.

by DoDo on Sat Mar 21st, 2015 at 04:08:25 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: This will not end well... (4.00 / 6)
For the benefit of those not wanting to read through the linked discussion: the satirist actually explains the point of his satire both at the end of the fake-fake video and at the end of his subsequent YouTube statement. Here are both:

From 7:48 in in the original video:

Es trifft aber wirklich ein Nerv. So sind wir Deutsche halt. In einem Jahrhundert zweimal Europa verwüstet, aber wenn man uns den Stinkefinger zeigt, dann FLIP-PEN WIR AUS. Dann kennen wir keine sachlichen Diskussionen mehr. Wenn uns ein Griche den Stinkefinger zeigt, dann FLIPPEN WIR AUS. Denn wir sind Deutsche.But it really strikes a chord. But that's how we Germans are. Devastating Europe two times within a century, but GOING NUTS when somebody's giving us the finger. Objective debate is then out of question. When a Greek gives us the finger, we totally freak out. Because we're Germans.
Lieber Redaktion von Günther Jauch. Yanis Varoufakis hat Unrecht, ihr habt den Video nicht gefälscht. Ihr habt den Video einfach aus dem Zusammenhang gerissen, und einen Griechischen Politiker am Stinkefinger durch den Studio gezogen, damit sich Mutti und Vati abends halt schön aufregen können: "Der Außländer. Raus aus Europa mit dem! Er ist arm und nimmt us Deutschen das Geld weg! Das gibts ja wohl gar nicht! Wir sind hier die Chefs!"Dear editorial staff of Günther Jauch, Yanis Varoufakis is wrong, you haven't doctored the footage. You simply took it out of context, and gave the Greek politician the runaround by pulling on his middle finger, so that in the evening Mom and Dad could pursue their passion of being outraged: "The Foreigner. Ot of Europe with him! He is poor and takes away the money from us Germans. That's just not possible! We are the bosses in here!"
So, that's what you did. Und der Rest ist von uns... [Lächeln] So, that's what you did. And the rest was our contribution... [smile]

From 0:35 in in Böhmermann's video statement:

Niemals würden wir die notwendige journalistische Debatte über einen zwei Jahre alten, aus dem Zusammenhang gerissenen Stinkefinger und all diejenigen, die diese Debatte ernsthaft öffentlich führen, derart skrupellos der Lächerlichkeit preisgeben.We would never expose the necessary journalistic debate over a two-year-old, out-of-context middle finger as well as all those who have conducted this debate publicly in all seriousness to ridicule in such an unscrupulous fashion.

The fact that 99% of the MSM commenters (as well as forum commenters) missed these only underscores his point about superficiality.

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.

by DoDo on Sat Mar 21st, 2015 at 04:40:11 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: This will not end well... (none / 0)
Er...

?

(especially as the article doesn't back up the claim.)

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Sat Mar 21st, 2015 at 02:18:40 AM EST
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Re: This will not end well... (none / 0)
The theatre of the absurd: Varoufakis' (disputed) rude gesture
Only it turned out that Boehmermann was indulging in some drawn out satire. The video that Neo Magazin Royale posted 'without' the finger was actually the 'doctored' one.

It turned out according to who? Twitter noise, apparently.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Sat Mar 21st, 2015 at 02:36:12 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Selective memory (none / 1)
Truth to tell: in my memory, having watched the video posted here a month ago, Varoufakis only said "stick the finger to Germany", without performing the gesture. I just went back to look again. Oops.

I also misunderstood Böhmermann's "you haven't doctored the footage" to mean, not you (Jauch), but us (Neo).

So my above comments are

Sorry.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Sat Mar 21st, 2015 at 08:45:00 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Selective memory (none / 0)
Böhmermann is the one who "discovered" the finger video in the first place:
(after 3'40")

A society committed to the notion that government is always bad will have bad government. And it doesn't have to be that way. — Paul Krugman
by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Sat Mar 21st, 2015 at 08:48:10 AM EST
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Re: Selective memory (none / 1)
Which was what made it so believable. You even got a video interview with the man who filmed the event where he mentions Böhmermann by name "It is one thing if comedians like Jan Böhmermann..". Which is easily explained by the video above of course, but some things are too funny not to believe.
by generic on Sat Mar 21st, 2015 at 09:40:21 AM EST
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Re: Selective memory (none / 0)
I also misunderstood Böhmermann's "you haven't doctored the footage" to mean, not you (Jauch), but us (Neo).

No misunderstanding here, that's what he said.

by generic on Sat Mar 21st, 2015 at 01:18:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Selective memory (none / 0)
I understood it to mean "we doctored the footage with the finger that you used".

It's all too subtle for me...

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Sat Mar 21st, 2015 at 02:02:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Selective memory (none / 0)
He lists what Jauch did and then ends with "..and everything else was done by us"
by generic on Sat Mar 21st, 2015 at 02:36:58 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Selective memory (none / 0)
And "what Jauch did" is
Dear editorial staff of Günther Jauch, Yanis Varoufakis is wrong, you haven't doctored the footage. You simply took it out of context, and gave the Greek politician the runaround by pulling on his middle finger, so that in the evening Mom and Dad could pursue their passion of being outraged: "The Foreigner. Ot of Europe with him! He is poor and takes away the money from us Germans. That's just not possible! We are the bosses in here!"
(DoDo)

A society committed to the notion that government is always bad will have bad government. And it doesn't have to be that way. — Paul Krugman
by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Sun Mar 22nd, 2015 at 05:53:18 AM EST
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Re: This will not end well... (none / 0)
turned out? It was pretty obvious.
by IM on Sat Mar 21st, 2015 at 01:18:22 PM EST
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Did the hawks blink first? | 49 comments (49 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)
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