in 2008, the german press council reprimanded the "bunte" due to a violation of the german press code. the publication had run an article on a new car model and, as the german press council determined, exceeded the bounds of hidden advertising for the new product. in 2010, the magazine "stern" published an exposé reporting that the "bunte" had hired an external agency to spy on the private lives of certain politicians. as a result, one of the persons affected, the former spd chairman franz müntefering, publicly reprimanded the "bunte" for its working practices. in 2011, prior to the beginning of the kachelmann trial, the "bunte" published an interview with the moderator's ex-girlfriend, who in exchange is said to have received remuneration of 50,000 euros. while kachelmann's defense lawyer raised the topic of the agreement before court, burda-verlag rejected the criticism. in 2013, the former german federal president christian wulff filed for a preliminary injunction against the bunte. the district court of cologne forbade the magazine to create the impression that wulff allegedly had a relationship with a music manager.