Media Ombudsman will pursue influencers: Four cases may show us why

Media Ombudsman to Target Influencers: Four Cases Show Why

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*Media Ombudsman to Monitor Influencers:* Four Cases Show Where We Might Be Heading

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Denmark's new Media Ombudsman will be tasked with monitoring 'alternative media actors' who are not registered with the press council.

Both Christina Sander and Julie Elsebeth faced criticism for posting criticisms without hearing the other side. (Photo: © Stine Bidstrup/Liv Latricia Habel/ Søren Bidstrup/Ritzau Scanpix)

21 minutes ago

Danish media breathed a sigh of relief when culture minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt (M) presented Denmark's new Media Ombudsman today.

The Media Ombudsman's primary task will not be to suppress established media registered with the press council, as Danish media and organizations had feared.

However, the sighs of relief are not widespread among Denmark's streamers and influencers.

In the press release from the Culture Ministry, it is clear that the Media Ombudsman's focus will be on "alternative media actors" instead. In fact, the term "protecting ordinary Danish citizens who find themselves in a bind and are hung out to dry" is used.

The Media Ombudsman will make decisions and issue orders if, for example, an influencer exceeds the guidelines described by the Culture Ministry as "good public disclosure practices."

The Media Ombudsman can also force an influencer to publish the Media Ombudsman's decisions and responses from a criticized party. If the order is not followed, it can lead to legal action.

The Media Ombudsman will also be able to conduct legal proceedings for peace and honor violations committed by the "alternative media actors."

Christina Sander caused a stir with her video about the conditions for families on the Molslinjen ferry. (Photo: © Søren Bidstrup, Ritzau Scanpix)

The establishment of the Media Ombudsman comes in the wake of a few years during which several influencers have made headlines in the public debate.

One of them is Christina Sander, who back in April posted a story about the conditions for families on the Molslinjens ferries.

The criticism she had not even consulted Molslinjen before, despite having joined the voluntary guidelines for influencers, which stipulate that one should be precise.

Christina Sander eventually apologized to Molslinjen.

- My interpretation was that the video was harmless. But I can certainly see that any mention of a fire on social media obviously has an effect, and I should be aware of that, she said.

Julie Elsebeth Krog has not commented on the other interpretations of the situation in March. (Photo: © Jonas Olufson, Ritzau Scanpix)

Influencer Julie-Elsebeth Johannesen Krog's initial support waned somewhat when she, back in March, with tears in her eyes told her 152,000 followers how she had been thrown out of an event at Christiansborg because her baby cried too much with his "happy rattle" during a lecture.

Since then, a participant at the event, development consultant Kirstine Bjerre, went on LinkedIn and thought that the happy rattle was "high" and "very disturbing for those present."

According to Kirstine Bjerre and other participants, Julie-Elsebeth Johannesen Krog was asked to take her baby outside when it became too loud, but it was not said that she could not participate in the event as such, writes Berlingske. ( https://www.berlingske.dk/kultur/influencer-blev-sendt-uden-for-doeren-med-sin-baby-saa-broed-en-shitstorm-af-dimensioner-loes?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=AWEtsqcz8Sn_jYEmcE8UTsbPxmrHwSn0b7TPIqtaY5CN1s5K2MdFy-Cx0z80IDN2sDs%3D&gaa_ts=69384ca9&gaa_sig=W1K3polaC6btYeNFhnVdiG6Wha6onK4hKlPhjnq3VADpoZF1O9g3iK04rf-zW326AOyC3Ek_OpDQp9wcEKZuuQ%3D%3D )

The debate went wild on social media, and the two sides were drawn hard. One thing was clear - the organizers of the event had not been informed of the criticism before it was spread to the 152,000 followers.

Emil Thorup is on a quest for the longest possible life. And it does not involve corn products. (Photo: © Liv Latricia Habel, Ritzau Scanpix)

Influencer, podcast host, and entrepreneur Emil Thorup is on a quest for a long life. And this quest does not involve corn - especially not oatmeal. This became clear when he visited the podcast 'Healthful Thoughts' in March.

- Corn - just stop eating it. It's just 'peasant food.' That is, it's just food for the peasants. It's just made to fatten up a certain population group, he said and continued:

- Even if you only eat it without sugar and only with milk. It's not a breakfast, it's a dessert.

The statement sparked a flurry of experts to go against Thorup. "Unnecessary, unfounded demonization" and "something sloppy," they said to TV 2. ( https://nyheder.tv2.dk/samfund/2025-08-13-eksperter-gaar-i-rette-med-emil-thorup-efter-unuanceret-daemonisering-af-havregryn )

- It's obviously wrong. There is a reason why authorities recommend us to eat it, said nutrition expert Umahro Cadogan.

Back in 2024, Emil Thorup told Berlingske when he also spoke critically of corn products:

- I know that I go against Sundhedsstyrelsen's recommendations on several points, and that the evidence for the theories is still weak.

Katherine Diez has since published the book "I Egen Barm" about the plagiarism scandal, her life, and her ex-boyfriend. (Photo: © Oscar Scott Carl, Ritzau Scanpix)

The raisin in the sausage roll is the supreme influencer scandal Denmark has seen. Literary critic and influencer Katherine Diez was taken to task for plagiarism - in a big way. It concerned not only her reviews in Berlingske, but also on her own Instagram, where she several times borrowed without crediting, when she made her long writings.

The revelation came on the social media Reddit, and was spread in the media by Kulturmonitor. What happened next will require me to write an additional 700 words to explain, but it ended with Katherine Diez apologizing, saying that she had an irresponsible, sloppy, and unsystematic approach to her work, which had led to plagiarism.

Later, she spoke to DR's Genstart:

- The explanation is not sufficient today. But I could not see it at the time, because I was not living in the reality that I live in now. Back then, I could not see that I was doing something wrong.

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