This article is dedicated to the liability of influencers under the law of expression. After analysing the relevant legal provisions and case law, the authors provide recommendations for influencers and show the legal consequences of breaches of the (journalistic) duties of care incumbent on influencers.
Influencers have become increasingly important in the public opinion discourse in recent years. Back in 2019, Rezo polarised opinion in the run-up to the European elections with his YouTube video “The destruction of the CDU”. Influencer Naomi Seibt, who is considered a “Musk whisperer” and promotes far-right politics on her X account, also recently caused a stir. However, influencers are also shaping social discourse through their contributions beyond their involvement in political debates, for example on how to deal with MeToo cases. Nevertheless, there has been little discussion to date about the standards by which influencers must be measured in terms of the law of expression. Are their statements to be equated with those of private individuals, with the result that they can invoke the so-called layman’s privilege? Or are influencers to be treated like traditional mass media under the law of expression, so that journalistic due diligence obligations also apply to them?