Schwiegertochter gesucht

During the 12 May 2016 episode of Neo Magazin Royale, host Jan Böhmermann introduced the hashtag #verafake and announced that Robin, a 21-year old contestant featured in the 10 April 2016 broadcast of Schwiegertochter gesucht, was actually a 30-year-old actor named Simon Steinhorst. His supposed 38-year old father René was played by 55-year-old actor Andreas Schneider.[1] The Neo Magazin Royale team had rented an apartment in Duisburg and furnished it to match the contestant's backstory. Their report included hidden camera footage of the production company at work and revealed that the contestant gets an allowance of 150 euros for 10 to 30 days of shooting, while noting that RTL earns up to 90,000 euros per minute during commercial breaks during broadcast of the program. Additionally, candidates are obligated to sign an affidavit that they are in full possession of their mental faculties. Although the supposed father character René claimed on-camera that he drank eight bottles of beer a day, he claimed in a questionnaire he did not consume alcohol. Contestants did not receive copies of the signed contract until after the episode was broadcast.

When asked by the media magazine DWDL.de about the report, RTL spokesman Christian Körner said it was necessary first to examine the broadcast sequence and consult with the producers before making public comment.[2] RTL then removed the episode featuring the fake contestants from its library of available shows.[3] At the same time they denied part of the allegations, arguing that the contract had been repeatedly sent to the contestant's known address but had not been signed for, and that the 150 euro allowance corresponded to the monthly basic allowance for persons receiving unemployment benefits.[4] Later RTL conceded that "errors in editorial diligence were made" and announced that the production team for the current season would be replaced.[5]

As a result of the revelations, the Lower Saxony State Media Authority (NLM) launched an investigation. NLM Director Andreas Fischer criticized "the way the production company negotiates contracts with the contestants and badgers them, which is reminiscent of door-to-door salespeople." The NLM officially requested copies of the contracts sent by the production company Warner Bros. International Television Production Germany to contestants.[6]

"You've made Robin and his father even dumber than we intended. And that's saying something. You've cast them as the ultimate idiots." - Jan Böhmermann: Neo Magazine Royale[7]