Ladies and Gentlemen!
Welcome to Vienna! Thank you all for coming.

I’d like to take this opportunity to give you all …. an “amazing crypto investment tip”.

I suppose you’re wondering about what I mean, that last sentence, don’t you? Well, just imagine how I felt when I saw a video of myself saying it. In a fake interview. With a fake voice. And – shockingly –, with a accent of Northern Germany! Of course, I’ve never promoted any investment platforms.

Yet there is a video on the internet in which I do exactly that. 

With AI technologies rapidly progressing it has become easy to manipulate what we see. What we hear. To manipulate truth. 

Basically, anyone with a computer can do it. Anyone can depict opponents in compromising scenes – or himself as Jesus. Or as a doctor. 

This development has a huge impact. Especially on our trust. If I see a video today showing the Pope having coffee with Putin, then I can assume that it isn’t real. But what about, say, a pop star campaigning for a political candidate?

Luckily in my case, with the crypto tips, the video was poorly done and you could easily tell it wasn’t really me. We have a real advantage here in Austria: Our dialect differs distinctly from Standard German. It is really tricky to imitate. And: The technology at that time simply wasn’t advanced enough yet. But now it is, or soon it will be. Then what? Well, clearly then we are going to need you more than ever. Whenever we see or read something we are not sure about, we turn to news agencies. We turn to you.

As third-party quality-seal, independent from politics, disconnected from clicks or followers. You triple-check and question everything. In times when traditional media – like printing newspaper - are coming under increasing pressure, and depend on readership numbers and clicks, you can remain neutral and objective, and committed to the truth.

And, ladies and gentlemen, truth matters. 

We need a shared understanding of what is right and what is wrong. 

Of what is a fact, and what is just an opinion. A shared understanding of the nature of our problems. Only then can we decide who to vote for, what to believe. There can be no liberal democracy without truth. There can be no bright future without truth.

Naturally, autocrats don’t like the truth. It is their political strategy to ensure that people no longer know right from wrong. Therefore, they attack the truth. And – as you well know – they attack those who seek it. With the aim of sidelining critical voices from the process.

The White House banned the Associated Press from briefings, the Pentagon tried to control what journalists write. Hearsay or facts? In Russia, you go to jail if you say this is a full-scale war against Ukraine, not just an “special military operation”. But dealing with the press and the public in this way is not sustainable.

In Hungary, we recently saw that even in a closed system with a media landscape that has been forced into line, people were able to mobilize against these existing structures. 

We saw: Ultimately, the truth prevails. 

Even if you try to control or manipulate it. Around the world, there are plenty of forces at work who try to manipulate and control what we perceive as true. All the more proof that the truth matters.

My feeling is, in the European Union it’s not that bad. Yet. We all must try our best to keep it that way. So, please stay close to the developments within Europe, and come back to Austria and its beautiful capital, Vienna.

You know, there is an old saying about Vienna: If the world is coming to an end, if the world catastrophe is approaching better move to Vienna — Vienna is always about ten years late to everything. 

Yes, maybe we are a bit more laid-back here in Vienna. But look at it another way: We can see what’s coming. And prepare for it adequately. So, if we see truth being bent or undercut, we can still do something. Through strengthening our media, and news agencies, educating our people, seeking reliable sources standing up for democracy – or whatever is in our power.

Thanks again for coming to Vienna. And: Please do not follow any of my investment tips.