German polling: Freedom of expression at risk

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Freedom of expression at risk

HERMANN BINKERT for INSA NEWS

84 percent of those we surveyed believe that there are people who do not express their opinions because they are afraid of the consequences.

Only one in eleven (9 percent) don’t believe that. Approval of this question, which shows to a large extent what many believe is the situation with freedom of expression, is very high, regardless of the socio-demographic characteristics. And even when comparing party supporters, there are clear majorities everywhere: between 77 percent among Alliance 90/The Greens voters and 92 percent among AfD voters.

If you ask the question directly, a clear majority of 54 percent still say that they themselves have had an experience in which they felt like they could not express their opinions freely.

We last asked the question eight months ago. Since then, the number of people who believe that some did not express their opinions for fear of consequences has increased by six percentage points.

The difference between the age groups is also striking. Two thirds of those under 30 say they felt they could not express their opinions freely. Among those over 70, only 38 percent say this. This is the only age group that the majority (54 percent) answer the question in the negative. More East (59 per cent) than West Germans (53 per cent) have had such an experience before.

Among the parties’ supporters, it is primarily voters from the AfD (76 percent), the BSW (69 percent) and the Left Party (65 percent) who felt that they could not express their opinions freely. The majority of voters from the SPD (42 percent yes to 50 percent no) and the Greens (41 percent yes to 47 percent no) see it differently. Voters from the CDU/CSU (47 percent yes to 47 percent no) and the FDP (45 percent yes to 44 percent no) are divided.

The topic of freedom of expression has the potential to become just as influential as migration from 2015 and Corona from 2020.

Politics as well as the media and society as a whole should take this seriously. Only with a good culture of debate and the acceptance of a broad diversity of opinions will the majority of the population be convinced that freedom of expression applies without restriction in our country, and that it is also a convincing reason for standing up for and defending this country.

Source

Featured image source: https://www.istockphoto.com/nl/foto/zipped-mouth-gm187643976-28981680

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