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Without the consent of the editors, the proponents of the group’s initiative sent a mini-edition of “Schweizer Illustrierte” and “Le Matin Dimanche” to the public for publicity purposes. Publishers Ringier and Tamedia are now considering legal action.
Proponents of the corporate responsibility initiative are criticized for its publicity.
Orange flags in front of thousands of windows and balconies, a half-hour self-financed “documentary film” about conditions in Colombia and Nigeria, billboards filled with the empty eyes of children: advocates of the Corporate Responsibility Initiative (KVI) are leading run a campaign that Switzerland has rarely seen. The world is divided into two parts: black and white: here the needy population in poor countries, there the greedy companies. To convey this message, the limits of integrity were finally explored, for example, with posters in which the plight of children is staged with manipulated images.
The Federal Council should use Trump’s methods
A new ad campaign now solidifies the image that the end justifies virtually any means for the initiators. On Tuesday, residents of German-speaking Switzerland found a mini edition of the “Schweizer Illustrierte” published by Ringier in their mailboxes. Content: an interview with Dick Marty, co-chair of the initiative committee of the initiative group. The “Trump methods” would be used by opponents of the referendum, namely FDP exponents and Federal Councilor Karin Keller-Sutter, in the voting campaign, the headline in bold reads.
Something similar spread in French-speaking Switzerland: there the population received a copy of “Le Matin Dimanche” (Tamedia), which also shows the portrait of Marty. Also in this case, the former Council of States of Ticino praised the new movement of civil society and fundamentally criticized the Federal Council. This begs the question: could the two media companies Ringier and Tamedia participate in the initiators’ campaign and use their media brands for political purposes?
No way. Because even if most readers didn’t know it, they weren’t holding a publisher’s publication, but rather a referendum commercial. However, the true authorship is only shown in print on the last page of the source. The initiators also refrained from obtaining consent for publication of the editors’ interviews. Consequently, Tamedia and Ringier condemned the use of their content and trademarks for political purposes in a joint statement on Wednesday night and announced legal action.
The KVI initiative committee used the two interviews with former Council of States member Dick Marty abusively for its own purposes, according to the two media outlets. The two brochures were created illegally and misleading in the respective design and logo of the two publications and were sent to homes. This gave the mistaken impression that the flyers came from “Schweizer Illustrierte” and “Le Matin Dimanche”.
Voting campaign with unfair means
There are also strong reactions to the massive broadcast from the camp of the opponents of the initiative. “The initiators apparently think they can do anything because they are morally right,” says Ruedi Noser, state councilor for the Zurich FDP. This also apparently includes violating publishers’ copyrights and misleading the public with plagiarism. For CVP State Councilor Andrea Gmür, the mailing shows once again that “the initiators would fight with unfair means”. “In debate, they always argue with morals. But you yourself are fine with all means to reach the goal. “
Ranks of opponents of the initiative are reportedly debating whether to file a complaint with the Injustice Commission. The Commission considers that advertising is unfair when a company or organization gains an advantage by communicating incorrect or misleading statements, statements or information. With the unauthorized appropriation of the media brands “Schweizer Illustrierte” and “Le Matin Dimanche”, the initiators could have violated this principle.
Meanwhile, the initiators defend themselves against the accusation that they deliberately misled the readers of the interview. “We have not changed a word in the texts and have made it clear in the imprint that it is a reprint of the initiative committee,” says KVI manager Rahel Ruch. Readers would be informed transparently. However, he admits that in the case of “Le Matin Dimanche” no prior consent was obtained. “We made a mistake internally.” The “Schweizer Illustrierte” had originally given permission to reproduce the interview. Ruch is surprised by the reaction of the media companies: she believes that the two media titles also have an interest in making the interviews accessible to a wider audience.
Anyway, you don’t understand the emotion. “Opponents apparently prefer to talk about fringe activities than whether corporations will have to answer for human rights violations in the future,” Ruch said.
