CinemaOSMovie · 2026 · 1h 32m

Born to Fake

IMDbDocumentary

In 1996, one of the biggest media scandals in German history shook the public: Michael Born, a self-made journalist, had faked over twenty reports for the newly established private television station between 1990 and 1996. Some seemed amateurish, others dealt with absurd topics: child labor for IKEA in India, drug addicts licking toads to get high, and the Ku Klux Klan in the Eifel region were just some of his numerous fabrications. How did it come to this? Was Michael Born an enlightened figure who subversively exposed the tabloid system, a victim of the system, or simply a bumbling fraud? Film traces Michael Born's footsteps. Put together from hundreds of hours of raw material and the memories of former companions, an incredible story of forgery emerges. A media-theoretical film about levels of reality, fake news, and the question: Why do we actually believe what we see?

Directed byErec Brehmer, Benjamin Rost

Play
Status
Released
Runtime
1h 32m
Language
DE
Released
May 28, 2026
Studios
SWRMSZ Production and Consulting

Featuring

Cast & crew

5 credited
Starring

Michael Born

Self

Roland Berger

Self

Martin Lettmayer

Self

Dr. Gabriele Schuster

Self

Thomas Pritzl

Self

Creative team
Directed by
Erec Brehmer
Benjamin Rost
Produced by
Mark Szilágyi

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