BR identifies operators behind voyeuristic Oktoberfest videos

BR has identified people behind many voyeuristic videos filmed on the Teufelsrad, an Oktoberfest ride, and posted online. Its investigation found that operators in Bavaria and YouTube professionals from Ukraine used the clips to grow the reach of social media accounts.

The videos, with titles such as “Sexy Drunk Girls” and “Hot ride at Oktoberfest”, show women on the ride, often with their underwear visible. Some thumbnails have been digitally altered to show women naked or with bare breasts. Before the Oktoberfest began, reports had emerged that at least 32,000 such clips were circulating online. Until now, it was unclear who was systematically filming, editing and uploading them to platforms including YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.

BR’s investigation linked one man from Bavaria to more than a dozen accounts across several platforms. He is suspected of filming some of the footage himself. The most successful videos from the accounts, which have since been deleted, attracted several hundred million views combined.

BR spoke to a woman shown in one of the accounts’ videos. That clip alone received at least 74 million views. She said men repeatedly recognised and approached her, and described feeling “a mix of disgust, shame and anger”. Although the video is no longer available, at least 29 other clips and photos of her on the ride were still online when BR conducted its research. The man did not respond to BR’s questions; some videos were removed shortly after the broadcaster contacted him.

A second man from Bavaria said he would stop making Teufelsrad videos after BR sent him questions.

BR also traced videos to the social media channels of a woman from Upper Bavaria. In her clips, she repeatedly points the camera between women’s legs as they slide off the ride. Her most successful YouTube channel has more than 160,000 subscribers.

In a post on X in summer 2024, she wrote that she had filmed all the videos herself, spending every day at Oktoberfest and recording more than 600 clips in 18 days. She offered the footage for sale on a website, claiming she had earned 9,000 euros overnight from a single video. More than 500 unpublished videos were available for several hundred euros, she said. She did not respond to BR’s questions. In the following days, videos of the ride were removed and two accounts believed to be hers were deleted.

BR’s investigation also found that a group of YouTube professionals from Ukraine had identified the ride’s potential for drawing audiences and growing accounts. The group, whose community has thousands of members, seeks ways to earn money on YouTube by finding gaps in the market for viral videos. Its content has included cooking videos and beach walks showing women in bikinis.

Before Oktoberfest 2024, the group’s founders travelled to Munich to film at the ride. In a video, they said they filmed “pretty much all day” and were asked to leave by ride staff only after several hours. They said they recouped the cost of the trip. After BR contacted them, they said through a Munich law firm that they had removed the relevant content from their channels. They did not admit wrongdoing.