Ken Jebsen

Last updated

Ken Jebsen
Ken Jebsen 2014.jpg
Jebsen at the Cologne Charlemagne Prize awards for dedicated engagement in literature and journalism in 2014
Born
Kayvan Soufi-Siavash

1966 (age 57–58)
Hüls, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
AwardsSee Awards
Career
ShowRadio Fritz
Station Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg
Show KenFM
CountryGermany
Website kenfm.de

Ken Jebsen (real name Kayvan Soufi-Siavash, born in 1966) is a German conspiracy theorist and former radio host.

Contents

Jebsen rose to prominence as moderator of his show KenFM with the public broadcaster Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB). After an email with antisemitic remarks by him became public in 2011, he was fired for violating RBB's journalistic standards. Jebsen subsequently launched his own web-portal KenFM and an eponymous YouTube channel. There he mainly published "alternative views" and conspiracy theories, such as about the 9/11 attack and the COVID-19 pandemic. YouTube closed his account permanently on 22 January 2021 for repeated publications of COVID-19 misinformation despite warnings and previous blocks. [1]

Zeit Online described Ken Jebsen as "probably the best known German conspiracy ideologue". [2]

TV and radio show presenter

First assignments

Ken Jebsen volunteered from 1987 to 1991 under the pseudonym Keks for the private broadcaster Radio Neufunkland in the city of Reutlingen, followed by a job as a reporter at Deutsche Welle TV , where he attracted attention for his spontaneous attitude and his feature banana microphone. In 1994 he became the presenter for a weekly late-night-show at the ZDF, a premier public-service TV broadcaster. [3] Again a reporter, he worked for the Radio 4U show of the largest local Berlin broadcaster SFB. [4] Around this time he landed his first assignment in the morning show team, the Radiofritzen at Radio Fritz, a public radio station. His last brief seasonal tenure took place in 1999 as he joined the team of hosts of the current morning show of ProSieben, a major private TV network. [5]

Radio Fritz and dismissal

Ken Jebsen at the Radio Fritz studio in 2005 Ken Jebsen cropped.jpg
Ken Jebsen at the Radio Fritz studio in 2005

From 2001 until 2011 Ken Jebsen served as the host of the popular radio show KenFM at Radio Fritz of the public broadcaster Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB). [6]

In 2007, Ken Jebsen and Susanne Wündisch won the European CIVIS Radio Prize, awarded in the category Short Programme for their work Irgendwo dazwischen: Portrait of a Young Kurdish Woman in Berlin, broadcast on 16 March 2006 by RBB. The film depicts a young Kurdish teacher and choreographer, born and raised in Berlin, performing the daring and delicate balancing act of living in between both her traditional Islamic culture and the modern western lifestyle. [7]

In early November 2011, an email of Ken Jebsen was published by author Henryk M. Broder, who criticized it for containing antisemitic statements. In the email, Jebsen states among other remarks that he knows "who invented the Holocaust as a PR stunt", he insinuates a connection between Joseph Goebbels, PR-pioneer Edward Bernays, the CIA as well as rich "Jews" such as Henry Kissinger. RBB initially defended Jebsen against the allegation and on 9 November it was decided to carry on with Ken Jebsen, who was instructed to "sensibly check future political issues". However, on 23 November 2011 RBB suspended his show and he was eventually dismissed, after it had been surmised that he had violated the broadcaster's journalistic standards on a number of occasions. Although he did not deny having written the email, Jebsen has repeatedly dismissed any allegations of antisemitism as "absurd." [8] [9] [10]

Internet portal

In spring 2012 Jebsen launched his own internet portal named KenFM, which is funded entirely through donations. [11]

KenFM mainly publishes "alternative viewpoints" on contemporary issues and news. The portal is mostly known for publishing a wide range of conspiracy theories. This includes conspiracy theories about the 9/11 attack, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation or the COVID-19 pandemic. [12] [13] [14] [6]

Criticism

Ken Jebsen and the KenFM outlet are regularly subjected to harsh criticism. During his early days after the dismissal from RBB, he was defended by some commenters. For example, some authors like Evelyn Hecht-Galinski argued that criticism has "gone beyond all measures" with respect to the fact that the wider debate on the Holocaust, antisemitism and related subjects requires restraint and a high degree of decency in Germany. However, with KenFM mainly publishing disproved conspiracy theories, mainstream media warns of the danger of his disinformation spreading, especially in the light of serious topics such as the COVID-19 pandemic. [15] [14] [6]

Since 2014 Ken Jebsen has been a keynote speaker at the Vigils for Peace events (German : Mahnwachen für den Frieden). The Vigils for Peace have been criticized for being a gathering place of right-wing populists, nationalists, conspiracy theorists, and anti-semites. [16] [17]

In 2017 Ken Jebsen received the Cologne Charlemagne Prize awarded by the "Neue Rheinische Zeitung" blog for dedicated engagement in literature and journalism. A public award event at the Berlin Babylon Theater planned for 14 December 2017 was cancelled upon political protests, that effected an intervention of the city's Culture department. [18]

Personal life

Ken Jebsen was born in 1966 in Krefeld Hüls as Kayvan Soufi-Siavash [19] to a German mother from Hamburg and an Iranian father. [20] As his birth name was too difficult to understand and to pronounce for the majority of the German radio audience, he decided to adopt the stage name Ken Jebsen. The surname supposedly echoes his mothers maiden name. [21] [9]

However, according to his own biographical account at Radio Fritz, his birth name was Moustafa Kashefi and he was born on board of a commercial jetliner while traversing Iranian airspace. In a detailed interview with Mathias Bröckers, Jebsen refuted his self-made "absurde Bio" ("absurd bio") and dismissed it as an easily recognizable "Gag" ("gag"). [22]

Ken Jebsen has three children and lives in Berlin. [23]

Awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ARD (broadcaster)</span> Group of German public broadcasters

ARD is a joint organisation of Germany's regional public-service broadcasters. It was founded in 1950 in West Germany to represent the common interests of the new, decentralised, post-war broadcasting services – in particular the introduction of a joint television network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gottfried Böhm</span> German architect and sculptor (1920–2021)

Gottfried Böhm was a German architect and sculptor. His reputation is based on creating highly sculptural buildings made of concrete, steel, and glass. Böhm's first independent building was the Cologne chapel "Madonna in the Rubble". The chapel was completed in 1949 where a medieval church once stood before it was destroyed during World War II. Böhm's most influential and recognized building is the Maria, Königin des Friedens pilgrimage church in Neviges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deutschlandradio</span> German national public radio broadcaster

Deutschlandradio is a national German public radio broadcaster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg</span> German national broadcaster based in Berlin and Potsdam

Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg, commonly shortened to RBB, is an institution under public law for the German states of Berlin and Brandenburg, based in Berlin and Potsdam. RBB was established on 1 May 2003 through the merger of Sender Freies Berlin (SFB) and Ostdeutscher Rundfunk Brandenburg (ORB), based in Potsdam, and is a member of the Association of PSBs in the Federal Republic of Germany (ARD).

Sender Freies Berlin was the ARD public radio and television service for Berlin from 1 June 1954 until 30 April 2003. On 1 January 1992, SFB became the public broadcaster for the whole of reunited Berlin. However, SFB had long had a significant audience in East Berlin for some time before German reunification. On 1 May 2003 it merged with Ostdeutscher Rundfunk Brandenburg to form Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mathias Bröckers</span> German journalist and writer

Mathias Bröckers is a German journalist, publicist, political blogger and author, co-author or editor of political monographs, and novels. He was co-founder, culture and science editor of the taz, and from 2006 its online consultant. He worked as a columnist for Die Zeit and Die Woche and as a science editor for ARD radio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Sonneborn</span> German satirist, journalist and politician

Martin Hans Sonneborn is a German politician and Member of the European Parliament (MEP). He is a founder and federal chairman of Die PARTEI. He was editor-in-chief of the satirical magazine Titanic from 2000 to 2005 and works for Spiegel Online and ZDF.

Scheibenwischer was the name of a long-running German Kabarett show. It was founded in 1980 by Dieter Hildebrandt and produced by BR / RBB to be broadcast on Das Erste. The show ended in 2008 after 28 years on the air.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RBB Fernsehen</span> German television channel by Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg

RBB Fernsehen is a German free-to-air television channel owned and operated by Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB) and serving Berlin and Brandenburg. It is one of the seven regional "third programmes" that are offered within the federal ARD network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vigils for Peace</span> Series of vigils in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland

Vigils for Peace is the name of regular series of vigils that have taken place on Mondays in many cities in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland since March 2014. The vigils are explicitly not left-wing or right-wing in political orientation, although they are inspired by the Monday demonstrations in East Germany that took place in 1989 and 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bundesvision Song Contest 2007</span>

The Bundesvision Song Contest 2007 was the third edition of the annual televised Bundesvision Song Contest, a German reality singing contest. The contest was held on 9 February 2007 at the Tempodrom in Berlin, following Seeed's win in the 2006 contest in Hesse with the song "Ding". The contest was hosted by Stefan Raab, Johanna Klum, and Elton in the green room.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KenFM</span> German internet journalism outlet

KenFM was a German internet journalism portal, established in 2011 by German television and radio presenter Ken Jebsen. It is the successor of a former eponymous radio show, which had over the course of ten years been hosted by Ken Jebsen, aired from 2001 to 2011 on the youth channel Radio Fritz of Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB). Despite its popularity the show abruptly came to an end, after an email containing anti-semitic statements by Jebsen was released. According to the RBB Ken Jebsen had "repeatedly disregarded binding agreements", consequently co-operation was ended on 23 November 2011 and the program was discontinued permanently.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olli Schulz</span> German singer-songwriter, actor and presenter

Oliver Marc "Olli" Schulz is a German singer-songwriter, actor and presenter. He became known as a singer and guitarist of the indie rock group Olli Schulz & der Hund Marie and as a sidekick of Joko Winterscheidt and Klaas Heufer-Umlauf in their various TV series, like Circus HalliGalli.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Attila Hildmann</span> German vegan cookbook author and conspiracy theorist (born 1981)

Attila Klaus-Peter Hildmann is a German vegan cookbook author and far-right conspiracy theorist. He has described himself as "ultra right-wing" and as a German nationalist. He has been repeatedly characterized as antisemitic and has been on the run since 2021, when German prosecutors issued a European arrest warrant for his arrest.

Maximilian Hofmann is a German broadcast journalist who has been Head of News & Current Affairs department at the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle since 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Düzen Tekkal</span> German journalist (born 1978)

Düzen Tekkal is a German author, television journalist, filmmaker, war correspondent, political scientist, and social entrepreneur of Kurdish descent. She is Yazidi.

A large part of the right-wing German party Alternative for Germany (AfD) supports Russia, its foreign policy, and its allies.

Germany participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy with the song "Rockstars" performed by Malik Harris. The German entry for the 2022 contest was selected through the national final Germany 12 Points, organised by the German broadcaster ARD in collaboration with Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR). The national final took place on 4 March 2022 and featured six competing acts with the winner being selected through online radio voting and public voting.

Dirk Pohlmann is a German journalist, author, screenwriter, director and producer of about 25 historical documentaries for German public media Arte, ARD and ZDF.

The Sorbischer Rundfunk is the Sorbian language program of Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR) and Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB), both of which are regional public broadcaster in Germany. It is the only broadcast in a national minority language in Germany.

References

  1. ↑ "Youtube sperrt Ken Jebsen dauerhaft". BR24 (in German). 22 January 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  2. ↑ Fedders, Jonas (6 August 2022). "Ken bleibt auf Sendung". www.zeit.de. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  3. ↑ "Die Mondschein-Show". Fernsehlexikon. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  4. ↑ "Ken Jebsen". Radio4u. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  5. ↑ Michael Reufsteck, Stefan Niggemeier (6 September 1999). "Die ProSieben MorningShow". Fernsehserien. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 Camilla Kohrs (30 December 2016). "Das Böse ist immer und überall". Correctiv . Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  7. ↑ "European CIVIS Radio Prize 2007". CIVIS. Archived from the original on 26 July 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  8. ↑ "Antisemitismusvorwürfe: RBB feuert Moderator Ken Jebsen - DER SPIEGEL - Kultur". Der Spiegel (in German). 24 November 2011. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  9. 1 2 Dachsel, Felix (20 January 2012). "Ken Jebsen und der RBB: "Ich benutze Humor als Waffe"". Die Tageszeitung: taz (in German). ISSN   0931-9085 . Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  10. ↑ "ich looking who has invented the Holocaust as PR". The Axis of Good. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  11. ↑ "Unterstütze KenFM! - KenFM ist ein freies Presseportal, eine Plattform, die bewusst das Internet als einziges Verbreitungsmedium nutzt". KenFM. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  12. ↑ Neuhaus, Elisabeth (15 June 2020). "So läuft das Geschäft mit den Verschwörungstheorien auf KenFM" [How the business of conspiracy theories works on KenFM]. turi2 (in German). Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  13. ↑ "Wie aus Kayvan Soufi-Siavash der Verschwörungsideologe Ken Jebsen wurde - DER SPIEGEL - Panorama" [How Kayvan Soufi-Siavash became the conspiracy psychologist Ken Jebsen - DER SPIEGEL - Panorama=]. www.spiegel.de (in German). 17 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  14. 1 2 Nils Metzger. "Warum Sie Ken Jebsen nicht vertrauen sollten". ZDF . Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  15. ↑ Evelyn Hecht-Galinski (18 April 2014). "Üble Angriffe auf Ken Jebsen". NRhZ-Online - Neue Rheinische Zeitung. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  16. ↑ "Ken Jebsen und die Corona-Propaganda". fr.de (in German). 18 May 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  17. ↑ Priska Daphi, Dieter Rucht, Wolfgang Stuppert, Simon Teune, Peter Ullrich (16 June 2014). "Occupy Frieden Eine Befragung von Teilnehmer/innen der "Montagsmahnwachen für den Frieden"" (PDF). Technische Universität Berlin. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  18. ↑ "Keine Preisverleihung: Kino Babylon in Berlin-Mitte sagt Ken Jebsen ab". Berliner Zeitung. 16 November 2017. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  19. ↑ Kayvan Soufi-Siavash. In: Trademarkia.com, retrieved 14 June 2021.
  20. ↑ Lünser, Lehberger, Heise, Andreas, Roman, Thomas (18 May 2020). "Angriff auf "heute show": Ken Jebsen nutzt Studio von attackierter TV-Produktionsfirma - DER SPIEGEL - Panorama". Der Spiegel (in German). Retrieved 17 June 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  21. ↑ An, laut, stark! Fritz - das Buch zum Radio. Galenza, Ronald, 1957-, Die Toten Hosen. Berlin: Schwarzkopf und Schwarzkopf. 2003. ISBN   3-89602-440-X. OCLC   76722880.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  22. ↑ Bröckers, Mathias, 1954- (2016). Der Fall Ken Jebsen oder Wie Journalismus im Netz seine Unabhängigkeit zurückgewinnen kann : der Macher von KenFM im Gespräch mit Mathias Bröckers. Frankfurt/Main. ISBN   978-3-946778-00-4. OCLC   965795812.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  23. ↑ "Ken Jebsen im Interview: "Die Leute sollen politisiert werden."". Planet Interview (in German). 6 October 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.