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Women given free cycling shorts to prevent upskirting on Oktoberfest amusement ride

Read the original at The Guardian ↗
Cite

Williams, J. (2026, October 3). Women given free cycling shorts to prevent upskirting on Oktoberfest amusement ride. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/03/women-given-free-cycling-shorts-prevent-upskirting-oktoberfest-amusement-ride-teufelsrad-germany

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Guardian · collected 2026-10-03 · by Jessie Williams

Quick Summary

At Oktoberfest in Munich, women are receiving free cycling shorts from the operator of the Teufelsrad ride to prevent upskirting incidents. An investigation revealed over 32,000 voyeuristic videos circulating online, primarily focusing on women’s underwear exposed by their traditional dirndl dresses during the fast-spinning ride. The operator has distributed more than 100 pairs of shorts this year and emphasizes the need for increased security measures; however, arrests in recent years remain relatively low, with ten in 2025 and seven in 2024.
Written by AI on 2026-10-03, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

At Munich's Oktoberfest, the operator of the Teufelsrad, or Devil's Wheel, a popular rotating amusement ride, started giving out free cycling shorts to female riders after thousands of voyeuristic videos surfaced online. These videos often showed women in traditional dirndl dresses with their underwear exposed due to the ride's rapid spinning motion. One video reportedly earned its poster €9,000 (£7,650). German broadcaster BR found that a professional group from Ukraine and locals were behind these videos. Despite filming under skirts being illegal since 2020 in Germany (punishable by up to two years in jail), critics argue the law is insufficient as it only applies when someone films directly beneath a skirt, not when photos capture exposed underwear due to movement or digital alteration. Elisabeth Polaczy, who runs the ride, has handed out over 100 pairs of shorts during this year's Oktoberfest to protect women from upskirting incidents and has been doing so for three years.

Written for “Oktoberfest Upskirting Prevention” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 3 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Oktoberfest Upskirting Prevention
Entertainment · 4 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 8% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Women in Munich Oktoberfest given free shorts to prevent upskirting Same event
Times of India
Hedges 5 of 25 claims Outlet record 59/100
Women given shorts at Oktoberfest to prevent upskirting Same event
BBC News
Hedges 3 of 23 claims Outlet record 66/100
Women given cycling shorts to wear on popular Oktoberfest ride after upskirting incidents Same event
The Independent
Hedges 3 of 20 claims Outlet record 59/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
13
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
8%
1 of 13 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
66/100
The Guardian's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
4
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-03 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

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Who wrote this

Jessie Williams
5 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction
🔮 Machado’s team say there have been at least seven attempts to return, all of which have been unsuccessful, which has prompted speculation that an outside government may be trying to prevent her from going back.
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🔮 Machado’s team say there have been at least seven attempts to return, all of which have been unsuccessful, which has prompted speculation that an outside government may be trying to prevent her from going back.
2026-10-07 · assertive framing · What happened to last year’s Nobel peace prize winner? Maria Machado’s seven attempts to return home to Venezuela
🔮 He told The Independent the injured boy was in a “critical state” and that he could be blind for the rest of his life.
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🔮 The Sun revealed that Prince Harry, 41, and Meghan Markle, 45, along with their children Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, will return to Britain for "an extended period of time" as the children are enrolled at a British school.
2026-08-20 · assertive framing · Trump’s MAGA allies mock Harry and Meghan over return to UK
Also by Jessie Williams
What happened to Maria Corina Machado, the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner?
2026-10-08 · The Independent
What happened to last year’s Nobel peace prize winner? Maria Machado’s seven attempts to return home to Venezuela
2026-10-07 · The Independent
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2026-10-03 · The Independent
Trump’s MAGA allies mock Harry and Meghan over return to UK
2026-08-20 · The Independent
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

Topics

BBC German Germany Munich Oktoberfest

Subjects

BBC ORG · 2× German NORP · 2× Munich GPE · 2× Bavarian NORP · 1× Elisabeth Polaczy PERSON · 1× Germany GPE · 1× Meta ORG · 1× Polaczy PERSON · 1× Swiss NORP · 1× Süddeutsche Zeitung ORG · 1×

Narrative

Women have been given free cycling shorts to prevent upskirting on a famous amusement ride at the Oktoberfest in Munich, after an investigation revealed tens of thousands of voyeuristic videos circulating online.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-03
2026-10-03 · The Guardian
Women given free cycling shorts to prevent upskirting on Oktoberfest amusement ride · assertive framing

Claims (13 extracted, 1 hedged)

Women have been given free cycling shorts to prevent upskirting on a famous amusement ride at the Oktoberfest in Munich, after an investigation revealed tens of thousands of voyeuristic videos circulating online. asserted
investigation → give → videos
The Teufelsrad or Devil’s Wheel, which rapidly spins around while people try to sit on it for as long as they can, is one of the beer festival’s oldest rides. asserted
they → spin → rides
But many of the videos discovered by German journalists focus on women whose traditional dirndl dresses have ridden up, often showing their underwear. asserted
dresses → discover → underwear
The findings have revived concerns about upskirting – secretly filming or taking photos under someone’s skirt without consent, which has been illegal in Germany since 2020. asserted
which → revive → 2020
But some women’s rights advocates have said the law is not enough to stop the abuse. asserted
law → say → abuse
According to the research by the Munich daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, more than 32,000 videos linked to the Teufelsrad were found on Meta platforms alone, some of them with millions of views. uncertain
videos → accord → views
The operator of the ride, Elisabeth Polaczy, told the BBC she has been handing out free cycling shorts to women and girls wearing dresses to protect them from people filming them. asserted
she → tell → them
She has given out more than 100 pairs during this Oktoberfest, which finishes on Sunday. asserted
which → give → Sunday
“I want to do everything I can to make people feel secure,” she said. asserted
she → want → everything
There are signs and police posters in German and English around the tent where the Teufelsrad is located that warn against filming under people’s skirts. asserted
that → be → skirts
But Polaczy, 80, said it was difficult to control everyone filming with smartphones. asserted
it → say → smartphones
A spokesperson for the Bavarian police told the BBC they have put up posters at the Oktoberfest warning against upskirting since 2025. asserted
they → tell → 2025
Police arrested a 45-year-old Swiss man for filming under a German woman’s dirndl at this year’s festival. asserted
Police → arrest → festival
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