Today, July 16, 2024, the Federal Ministry of the Interior banned the well-known COMPACT magazine, which is critical of the government. Since the early hours of the morning, police have been searching the editorial offices and the homes of the management and shareholders in Brandenburg, Hesse, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt.
In addition to breaking up the media company, the aim is also to shut down the social media channels, delete all content and confiscate the earnings of COMPACT's media operations.
Meanwhile, Tagesschau reveals what it is really about: “The decisive factor for the ban is that, according to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, ‘Compact’ violates the free democratic basic order and human dignity and is ‘aggressively militant’ in its approach.”
Editor-in-chief Jürgen Elsässer himself originally came from the left-wing political camp. He was correspondingly militant and revolutionary at the time. If he had remained part of the political left, Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser would hardly ever have touched him and his media company. But Elsässer has evolved; today he is close to the political right and at the same time fights for a cross-front that tries to overcome the old left-right thinking.
The hypocrisy of Faeser's action can also be seen in the fact that the left-wing extremist website “Indymedia”, which regularly calls for violence against politicians, has not been banned for years. During the Hessian state elections last year, the site called for violence against AfD candidates and damage to property, among other things. Which actually happened after a leak of private addresses.
You don't have to like Elsässer's COMPACT, you can reject it outright, but such a frontal attack on the freedom of the press in our country should never be tolerated. If this method catches on, then free journalism in Germany is finished. And with it an essential pillar of our democracy.
For this reason, I have just submitted a request to the EU Commission:
++ Equal treatment and media freedom: Questions on the ban of COMPACT and continued operation of INDYMEDIA ++
In view of the recent ban of the magazine “Compact” and its internet channels by the German Federal Minister of the Interior, I have the following questions with regard to the “EU Media Freedom Act”:
1) Is such a measure within the meaning of the „EU Media Freedom Act“ and is it supported by the Commission?
2) Are further similar actions on the part of the Member States to be expected?
3) How does the Commission assess the fact that the extreme left-wing website 'Indymedia', which regularly calls for violence against politicians, is not being banned, also with regard to the „EU Media Freedom Act“?
It is disturbing to see that a publication such as “Compact” is banned despite its controversial and sometimes aggressive content, while “Indymedia”, which calls for violent actions against political opponents, is still online. “Indymedia“, for example, suggested ‘terrorizing AfD candidates through ’anti-fascist house calls” to the “destruction of campaign stands” during the Hessian state elections last year.”
This unequal treatment raises serious questions about equal treatment and the protection of freedom of expression in the member states of the European Union.
Christine Anderson, MEP
