Fake letters cause a stir

“Panierqote”: FPÖ loses against “Tagespresse”

The fake letters were sent to several landlords in Lower Austria.

(Bild: zVg, Krone KREATIV)

A lawsuit filed by the FPÖ Lower Austria against the satirical platform "Tagespresse" for injunctive relief and publication of a judgment regarding fake FPÖ letters sent to pubs has been dismissed by the Commercial Court of Vienna. This is clear from the judgment, which is not legally binding. Essentially, the court ruled that the campaign constituted admissible satire. The Freedom Party announced that it would appeal.

This was triggered by letters sent to 500 Lower Austrian pubs in April 2023 in the name and with the logo of the FPÖ. These took aim at the "pub bonus" being pushed by the FPÖ. The letter talks about a newly created "department for the promotion of patriotic food culture".

In addition to a "breading quota", a "red-white-red children's menu", which could feature an "Andreas Hofer schnitzel" or a "Gabalier meat patty", was suggested as a criterion for assessing whether the establishment was suitable for the pub premium.

FPÖ claims not to have recognized satire
The FPÖ had argued that the letter to innkeepers was not recognizable as satire and was damaging to the party. In particular, the allegation of an intended measure that "pubs (...) that are not close to their homeland (...) will be identified as unpatriotic in a publicly accessible online register as a warning to guests" was defamatory and damaging to the party's reputation. The "Tagespresse" objected that the letter was clearly recognizable as satire and was therefore covered by the right to freedom of art and expression.

In addition, the public had been informed of the true origin of the letter immediately after it was sent and there was no risk of repetition, as a joke only works once.

Court: "Absurdity" easily recognizable
The Commercial Court ruled that the letter was permissible satire. The letter used the means of exaggeration and exaggeration to portray the "pub bonus" as absurd, which, in the court's opinion, was easily recognizable to the average reader.

Even if the true authorship of the letter did not emerge from the letter, the addition "Department for the promotion of patriotic food culture" in the letterhead and the part of the heading referring to a "new breadcrumb quota" alone cast doubt on the seriousness of the letter.

FPÖ must bear procedural costs
The required weighing of fundamental rights is also in favor of the "daily press". This is because the letter addresses a topic of public interest and deals with the demands of a political party, for which the limits of permissible criticism are wider than for private individuals. There was no defamation or damage to credit. The use of the FPÖ Niederösterreich logo does not violate fair trading law. Violations of data protection law alleged by the FPÖ are unfounded. The FPÖ Niederösterreich must pay the "Tagespresse" legal costs of around 10,500 euros.

The FPÖ intends to contest the ruling.

(Bild: APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER)

Party wants to appeal to the next instance
"The first-instance ruling must of course be accepted," the FPÖ Lower Austria stated in an initial reaction. "However, we will lodge an appeal so that the legal questions that the responsible judge did not answer convincingly can ultimately be reviewed and resolved by the Higher Regional Court and subsequently by the Supreme Court," it was announced.

"We do not believe that sending letters with fake party logos with the intention of deceiving the addressees and damaging the Freedom Party can be understood as a legitimate means of political debate."