Christian Ulmen secures partial court victory over Der Spiegel's deepfake allegations

The Hanseatic Higher Regional Court in Hamburg issued a partial injunction against the news magazine Der Spiegel, prohibiting it from publishing passages that suggest actor Christian Ulmen created or distributed deep‑fake videos of his ex‑wife Collien Fernandes. The court ruled that the magazine lacked a "minimum amount of evidential facts" to support the deep‑fake claim and also barred the citation of an email Ulmen sent to his lawyer. Reporting on the separate violence allegations made by Fernandes remains permitted. Ulmen, who denies all accusations, continues to be investigated by the Potsdam public prosecutor’s office, while Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig announced plans to close legal gaps concerning digital violence against women. The ruling highlights growing judicial scrutiny of media reporting on AI‑generated content and has sparked debate over the balance between press freedom and personal dignity.