Fergus Falls received international coverage in early 2017 and late 2018 after a news article in "Der Spiegel" falsely claimed there was an anti-Mexican sign at the city's entrance and fabricated other things about the town. The story's author, Claas Relotius, admitted to numerous instances of journalistic fraud. In December 2018 two residents of Fergus Falls, Michele Anderson and Jake Krohn, published a report pointing out the "11 most absurd lies" of the 2017 article. The same month "Der Spiegel" also sent a reporter to Fergus Falls to investigate and apologize.