CNN ‘Journalist of the Year’ Caught Faking Reports

A recent winner of CNN’s “Journalist of the Year” award has been busted literallhy inventing fake news. 

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“Claas Relotius, a reporter and editor, falsified his articles on a grand scale and even invented characters, deceiving both readers and his colleagues,” Der Spiegel reported. “This has been uncovered as a result of tips, internal research and, ultimately, a comprehensive confession by the editor himself.”

The publications said that suspicions grew after a November report by Relotius “about an American vigilante group that patrols the border between Mexico and the United States.”

A co-author on the report said that he observed Relotius’ behavior and grew distrustful, then reported what happened, which led to the publication confronting him.

“Claas Relotius committed his deception intentionally, methodically and with criminal intent,” Der Spiegel continued. “For example, he included individuals in his stories who he had never met or spoken to, telling their stories or quoting them. Instead, he would reveal, he based the depictions on other media or video recordings. By doing so, he created composite characters of people who actually did exist but whose stories Relotius had fabricated. He also made up dialogue and quotes.”