For "all points of view"

ORF offers controversial corona sceptic a stage

Martin Rutter was one of the most influential figures of the opponents of the measures - now a planned appearance by him on ORF is causing a stir.(Bild: APA/HERBERT PFARRHOFER)

Five years after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, ORF Lower Austria is hosting a controversial discussion on "Facts and Mistakes". The controversial corona denier Martin Rutter, of all people, will be allowed to present his view of things.

To mark the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic five years ago, ORF Niederösterreich is hosting a "Ein Ort am Wort" discussion to debate "facts and mistakes". Everyone is invited to take part in the discussion on March 13 in a pub in Zwettl and express their opinion.

Disseminated factually incorrect content
In addition, virologist Norbert Nowotny, intensive care physician Christoph Hörmann and lawyer Gottfried Forsthuber will also have their say under the moderation of Werner Fetz. Also on board is corona denier Martin Rutter, who founded associations for vaccination victims and has repeatedly attracted attention at demonstrations against corona measures.

Just last Friday, the Austrian Court of Audit criticized the fact that funds from the Corona Fund in Lower Austria also went to Rutter's associations, thus enabling events that were subsequently publicly criticized for spreading content that was contrary to the facts.

ORF wants to address the issue broadly
ORF argued that Rutter's invitation was intended to allow "all points of view" to be heard. This is because supporters and opponents of vaccination and the measures taken at the time are still often irreconcilable.

The aim is now to discuss which facts, in retrospect, speak in favor of the restrictions at the time and to what extent mistakes were made during the pandemic in order to learn lessons from them. In February, ORF Director General Roland Weißmann described the coronavirus vaccination lottery organized by ORF as a "mistake" from today's perspective.