Journalists in Germany continue to be regular victims of aggression, with incidents including kicks, punches, and attacks with torches and tractor blockades. While the number of attacks on journalists in Germany has decreased significantly in the past year, the organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) warns that there is still no reason to relax. In 2023, RSF documented 41 attacks on media professionals, down from 103 attacks in 2022. The COVID-19 pandemic caused a spike in attacks on journalists, and the trend has not completely subsided. RSF highlights a new aggressive phenomenon of tractor blockades targeting German media houses. There has been a growing anti-press sentiment in Germany in recent years, with reporters being physically assaulted, equipment destroyed, and facing severe online threats.
RSF also notes a dangerous new form of aggression towards journalists in Germany, as farmers have recently used tractor blockades and manure heaps to prevent the delivery of newspapers in several states. This signals that press freedom in Germany is not only threatened by attacks on individual journalists, but also by the lowering of barriers against press freedom. RSF recorded the most common forms of abuse against journalists in 2023, including kicks, punches, attacks with objects like torches or drumsticks. Journalists had equipment taken away from them, were pulled to the ground, and even smeared with excrement. The organization emphasizes that attacks were only classified as such if they actually made physical contact with journalists or their equipment.
The majority of the 41 verified attacks in 2023 occurred in Saxony (12), followed by Bavaria (6), Berlin (5), North Rhine-Westphalia (5), Lower Saxony (4), Hamburg (2), Hesse (2), Rhineland-Palatinate (1), Thuringia (1), and Schleswig-Holstein (1). The most dangerous locations for media professionals in 2023 were political gatherings such as party events, demonstrations, and protests, accounting for 32 out of 41 cases. Attacks were particularly common during coverage of conspiracy-theory or right-wing extremist gatherings, with 18 cases documented in 2023. RSF highlights that the freedom to report independently in Germany is under threat, with dissatisfaction over alleged limited coverage of farmer protests leading to attacks against press freedom.
Despite the decrease in attacks on journalists in Germany, RSF continues to monitor the situation closely, emphasizing that the new year began with a journalist in Leipzig being brutally assaulted at the edge of a demonstration. The organization urges for a stronger protection of press freedom and journalists in the country. The RSF report “Close-up Germany” serves as a reminder that journalism in Germany remains a dangerous profession, as journalists face physical violence, equipment destruction, and online threats. The organization calls for a halt to the escalating hostility towards journalists and for measures to ensure their safety in covering important issues and events within the country.
