DOKFILM - BORN TO FAKE

By Erec Brehmer and Benjamin Rost

Fictitious drug smugglers, toads as a narcotic and a Ku Klux Klan gathering in the heart of the Eifel: Michael Born gave German television what promised high viewing figures – and simply staged his ‘reports’ himself. A fast-paced, astonishingly entertaining film about fake news, viewing figures and the question of why we believe what we see.

Michael Born was a gifted storyteller – though he wasn’t particularly fussy about the truth. Between 1990 and 1996, the self-made reporter sold more than 20 fabricated reports to German television stations. His spectacular stories were broadcast on programmes including ‘stern TV’, ‘Spiegel TV’ and WDR. Friends played Ku Klux Klan members, supposed drug addicts licked toads, and archive footage was passed off as current footage. Although some scenes seemed far-fetched even back then, they were broadcast.

Directors Erec Brehmer and Benjamin Rost reconstruct the case using hundreds of hours of raw footage and the recollections of former associates. Fast-paced and cleverly edited, *BORN TO FAKE* almost becomes a thriller about the craving for recognition, competitive pressure and a television system that was constantly demanding even more spectacular images.

Yet the film does not take the easy route of declaring Michael Born the sole villain. How were his forgeries able to pass all checks for years on end? What role did editorial teams play, whose main focus was on viewing figures? And was Born merely a brazen fraudster – or also the product of a system that was only too willing to believe his stories?

A wild, humorous and disturbingly topical documentary about fake news, the power of images and viewing figures.

Germany, 2025 / 92 mins.

Audio: German