Udo Ulfkotte (20 January 1960 – 13 January 2017) was a German journalist and
conspiracy theorist
A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources:
*
*
*
* The term has a nega ...
who maintained that journalists (including himself) and leading newspapers published material that had been fed to them, or bought, by the
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
and other Western intelligence and propaganda agencies. Several media outlets rejected Ulfkotte's claims as frivolous.
[Rechtspopulismus: Umstrittener Publizist Udo Ulfkotte ist tot](_blank)
in: Spiegel Online
''Der Spiegel (online)'' is a German news website. Before the renaming in January 2020, the website's name was ''Spiegel Online'' (short ''SPON'').
It was founded in 1994 as the online offshoot of the German news magazine, '' Der Spiegel'', w ...
, 14 January 2017 He was a political journalist for the German main daily newspaper ''
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
The ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'' (; ''FAZ''; "''Frankfurt General Newspaper''") is a centre-right conservative-liberal and liberal-conservativeHans Magnus Enzensberger: Alter Wein in neuen Schläuchen' (in German). ''Deutschland Radio'', ...
'' (FAZ) for several years until 2003.
From the end of the 1990s, he wrote several bestsellers and increasingly advocated right-wing populist, Islamophobic, and conspiracy-theory positions.
Career
Ulfkotte studied jurisprudence and politics in
Freiburg
Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...
and
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. Between 1986 and 1998, Ulfkotte lived predominantly in
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
,
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
,
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
,
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
,
Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...
,
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...
,
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
and
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
.
Ulfkotte was on the staff of the
Konrad Adenauer Foundation
The Konrad Adenauer Foundation (german: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, KAS) is a German political party foundation associated with but independent of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The foundation's headquarters are located in Sank ...
from 1999 to 2003.
He won the civic prize of the in 2003.
Political activism
Ulfkotte was involved in the far-right
Pro Germany Citizens' Movement
The Pro Germany Citizens' Movement (german: Bürgerbewegung pro Deutschland) was a far-right political party in Germany. It was founded in Cologne on 20 January 2005 after Pro Cologne members had been elected to the Cologne City Council. Manfred ...
.
[Humayun Ansari, Farid Hafez, ''From the Far Right to the Mainstream: Islamophobia in Party Politics and the Media'', Campus Verlag, 2012, pp. 39–40] In June 2007, he signed the anti-Islam organisation Federal Association of Citizens' Movements (BDB)'s "Wertheimer Appell" against their supposed "creeping Islamisation" of Germany.
The BDB merged with Ulfkotte's Pax Europa
Cas Mudde
Cas Mudde (born 3 June 1967) is a Dutch political scientist who focuses on political extremism and populism in Europe and the United States. His research includes the areas of political parties, extremism, democracy, civil society and Europ ...
''The Populist Radical Right: A Reader'', Taylor & Francis, 4 Oct 2016, p.121 organisation to form the
Citizens' Movement Pax Europa (BPE), but Ulfkotte left this in 2008 after an internal dispute.
Pax Europa was affiliated to the anti-Muslim
Stop Islamisation of Europe (SIOE) alliance and approached the far-right Belgian party
Vlaams Belang
, ideology =
, predecessor = Vlaams Blok
, position =
, europarl = Identity and Democracy
, european = Identity and Democracy Party
, youth_wing = Vlaams Belang Jongeren
, colours = ...
(VB) for their assistance.
It worked with them to organise an anti-Islamic
9/11 anniversary march in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
in 2007, but mayor
Freddy Thielemans refused to license it and it was eventually cancelled, leading to a split between Ulfkotte and SIOE.
Ulfkotte had planned to run for the
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
local elections in 2008, as number two on the
Centre Party's list, but later withdrew in June/July 2007. In July 2007, Ulfkotte announced he would found a new national party,
but this effort failed.
Ulfkotte was a speaker at rallies of the right-wing anti-Islam
Pegida movement and the right-wing party
AfD.
''Bought Journalists''
In 2014, Ulfkotte's book ''Gekaufte Journalisten'' (
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
''Bought Journalists: How Politicians, Intelligence Agencies and High Finance Control Germany’s Mass Media'') was published. In this work, he stated that the
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
and other secret services pay money to journalists to report stories in a certain light. According to Ulfkotte, the CIA and
German intelligence (BND) bribe journalists in Germany to write pro-
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
propaganda articles, and it is well understood that one may lose their media job if they fail to comply with the pro-Western agenda. This is part of a larger pattern of media corruption he describes in the book. An English translation was released under the title ''Presstitutes''. Several media outlets rejected Ulfkotte's claims as frivolous.
''
Der Spiegel'' observed that "Ulfkotte's book was published by Kopp, a melting pot for conspiracy theorists. Kopp publishes works by ufologists, and by authors who claim the Americans destroyed the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center themselves in 2001. Ulfkotte's book was on the bestseller lists for months. According to the magazine, "''Bought Journalists'' is the bible of all those who have renounced their faith in the German media. Ulfkotte's critics see the book as a vendetta against the FAZ, which he left on bad terms."
Death
Ulfkotte died from a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...
on 13 January 2017 at the age of 56, having suffered from several such health emergences previously.
Works
* '' Presstitutes Embedded in the Pay of the CIA: A Confession from the Profession '' Progressive Press (October 18, 2019), , . In English.
''The following works are all written in German. English translations of the titles are included here.''
* '' Journalists for Hire: How the CIA Buys the News '' Next Revelation Press (May 15, 2017), ,
* '' Holy War in Europe. '' Eichborn, Frankfurt/Main, 2007,
* '' The War in the Dark. The True Power of the Secret Services. '' Eichborn, Frankfurt/Main, 2006,
* '' The War in our Cities. As Radical Islamics Infiltrate Germany. '' Eichborn, Frankfurt/Main 2003,
* '' Restaurant economics. '' Goldmann, Munich 2001,
* '' Classified Material Federal Intelligence Service. '' Koehler und Amelang, Munich, Berlin 1997,
* '' Over work and Expenditure for Paperback. '' Heyne, Munich updated 1998,
* '' Prophets of the Terror. The Secret Network of the Islamics. '' Goldmann, Munich 2001,
* '' Journalists Lie in Such a Way. The Fight for Ratios and Editions.'' Bertelsmann, Munich 2001,
* '' Gene Code J. '' Novel, Eichborn, Frankfurt/Main, 2001,
* '' Market Place of the Thieves. '' Bertelsmann, Munich, 1999,
* '' Boundless Criminality. What politics and mass media keep silent about the crimes committed by migrants.'' Bertelsmann, Munich 2004,
References
External links
Udo Ulfkotte Homepage(Much of this is in German; includes "Whistleblower" newsletter)
** e.g.
– October 2006
*
"German Wilders" attacks Islam Radio Netherlands Worldwide
Radio Netherlands (RNW; nl, Radio Nederland Wereldomroep) was a public radio and television network based in Hilversum, producing and transmitting programmes for international audiences outside the Netherlands from 1947 to 2012.
Its services i ...
, 13 June 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulfkotte, Udo
1960 births
2017 deaths
20th-century German journalists
21st-century German journalists
Alumni of the University of London
Counter-jihad activists
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung people
German critics of Islam
German male journalists
German male writers
German newspaper journalists
German conspiracy theorists
Pegida
People from Lippstadt
University of Freiburg alumni