In what may be the most aggressive move against press freedom since the Second World War, Germany has banned Compact Magazine and had over 200 police officers raid the office and home of the publisher, Jürgen Elsässer, along with the homes of other employees and financial backers.
At 6:00 a.m., masked German police officers raided the home of Elsässer and confiscated hard drives and assets. The magazine has a large readership in Germany and a Youtube channel with millions of views and over 300,000 subscribers. The website and its social media channels have now been erased from the web.
Far-left German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser took to X to celebrate the banning of the publication, which she says she personally ordered.
“Today, I banned the right-wing extremist ‘COMPACT Magazine.’ It agitates in an unspeakable way against Jews, against Muslims and against our democracy. Our ban is a hard blow against the right-wing extremist scene,” she wrote.
While speaking about the incident, she stated:
“We will not allow ethnic definitions of who belongs to Germany and who does not. Our constitutional state protects all those who are persecuted because of their faith, their origin, their skin color or their democratic stance.”
🇩🇪BREAKING NEWS: Massive crackdown on the press in GermanyIn what may be the most aggressive move against press freedom since the Second World War, Germany has banned Compact Magazine and raided the office of the publisher, Jürgen Elsässer.The press was informed ahead of… pic.twitter.com/yLed1UkL7T
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) July 16, 2024
The press was informed ahead of time of the raid, and was on hand to photograph Elsässer in his night robe while he was surrounded by masked police officers. In addition, his video production company, Conspect Film GmbH was also banned.
It also marked the first time a media outlet of this size has been targeted in such an extraordinary manner,
Alternative for Germany (AfD) co-leaders, Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla issued a joint statement on X, writing:
“The ban on Compact magazine is a serious blow to press freedom. We are watching these events with great concern. Banning a press organ means denying discourse and diversity of opinion. A ban is always the most far-reaching step. Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser is abusing her powers to suppress critical reporting. We call on the minister to respect press freedom.”
