A major domestic spy agency in the European Union (EU_ has set its sights on conservative newspapers, mentioning the publications as part of a warning against supposed Russian disinformation. The Bavarian Office for the Protection of the Constitution, a branch of Germany’s domestic spy agency, mentioned three conservative outlets in an August report: Junge Freiheit, Tichy’s Einblick, and Berliner Zeitung.
The report claims that pro-Russia actors disseminated articles from the publications to spread “pro-Russia narratives,” linking to various articles.
In reaction to the report, Berliner Zeitung Editor-in-Chief Tomasz Kurianowicz accused the spy agency of engaging in reputational damage to the publication. He said that their job is to collect information on extremists and terrorists, not to go after independent media.
Conservative newspaper Junge Freiheit stated that the report was an attempt to “defame” the newspaper. Editor-in-Chief Dieter Stein demands that the spy agency remove references to the newspaper and sign a cease-and-desist declaration. According to a recent commentary by Stein on September 12, the spy agency has amended the report, withdrawing any accusations of Junge Freiheit being linked to Russia.
The backlash to the report comes after German police raided and shut down Compact magazine, noted for its support of former President Donald J. Trump, at the behest of leftist federal interior minister Nancy Faeser.
Faeser claims that the magazine engages in fostering “hatred” and violence against refugees and migrants.
The attacks on freedom of the press come as the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) is seeing surging poll numbers, while the left-green-neoliberal coalition of parties that make up the German federal government plummets towards irrelevancy.
show less
