“Monitor” exclusion from the AfD party conference: The political magazine is not allowed to report on the Thuringian state party conference. The reason: The party accuses the magazine of “clumsy propaganda”.
The ARD political magazine “Monitor” is not permitted by the AfD to report on the Thuringian state party conference. The public broadcaster Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), which is responsible for the magazine, criticized this and announced that it would consider legal action against the refusal of accreditation for the state party conference that begins on Friday.
The ARD broadcaster emphasized that it was extremely worrying that “a party represented in parliament would deny journalists access to a party conference because it does not agree with the reporting.” WDR editor-in-chief of politics and current affairs, Ellen Ehni, said according to the statement: “The cornerstone of a democratic society is that the media can freely report on politicians and parties.”
“Oath of disclosure by a right-wing extremist AfD regional association”
The state spokesman for the AfD Thuringia, Stefan Möller, shared his reasons for the exclusion on the platform X, which was previously called Twitter. Among other things, he emphasized that it was in the party’s interest to report on party conferences. Acceptance ends “when there can no longer be any talk of journalistic reporting at all.” Möller also wrote of “clumsy propaganda”.
AfD rejects DJV criticism
The German Journalists’ Association (DJV) protested against the party’s decision. DJV federal chairman Mika Beuster said that the AfD was “demonstrating its disturbed relationship to freedom of the press and critical journalistic reporting.” So far, space problems have been cited as a way to keep journalists away from AfD party events. “Now the AfD has let the cat out of the bag.” It disregards the freedom of broadcasting and the press.
In response to a dpa request, the AfD rejected the DJV criticism and said, among other things: “Representatives of various media, including both public broadcasters, are registered and of course admitted to the meetings starting on Friday.” Many of these media are known for an extremely critical attitude towards or reports about the AfD – which is their right.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
