ER Editor: Just a technical note on the title. While the UK’s GB News has had some pretty fresh voices and pertinent analyses on its airwaves, such as those of Neil Oliver, it’s turned out to be Establishment after all. No real surprises there.
Some tweets —
While its detractors accuse the Austrian TV channel AUF1 of having provided a platform for the ‘far Right’, it has in fact gained notoriety for its opposition to Covid policy. And now it has been banned from broadcasting in Germany. Details 👇. https://t.co/sp5ZPvqB3u
— Robert Kogon (former “Esprit de Voltaire”) (@EdV1694) November 17, 2023
Translation: We started AUF1 to inform people independently and freely. We will continue to do this successfully. The system wants us gone. But one thing is clear: the media revolution cannot be stopped. A fundamental #AUF1 statement will follow!
Wir sind angetreten, um mit AUF1 die Menschen unabhängig und frei zu informieren. Das werden wir weiterhin so erfolgreich tun. Das System will uns weghaben. Doch eines ist klar: Die Medien-Revolution lässt sich nicht aufhalten.
Eine grundsätzliche #AUF1 Stellungnahme folgt! pic.twitter.com/13r03HOgXo
— Stefan_Magnet (@MagnetStefan) November 14, 2023
Translation: AUF1 ABOUT SAT BANNED IN THE TOTALITARIAN BRD🚨🚨🚨🚨 System media cheer AUF1 censorship – Are unwelcome truths to be suppressed? The media cartel and the German Greens are unashamedly gloating, while the alternative media are talking about censorship – the media regulator’s decision to prevent the broadcasting of AUF1 via satellite television is making waves. Analysts speak of an attack on media freedom and attribute the reasons for this step by the system to the critical AUF1 reporting on the coronavirus and Great Reset.
AUF1 ÜBER SAT VERBOTEN IN DER TOTALITÄREN BRD🚨🚨🚨
System-Medien bejubeln AUF1-Zensur – Sollen unliebsame Wahrheiten unterdrückt werden?
Unverhohlene Schadenfreude beim Medienkartell und den deutschen Grünen, in den alternativen Medien spricht man von Zensur – die Entscheidung… pic.twitter.com/LY1BkysJCO
— ❌️ Prof. Dr. Schweinhardt von Mobbingen© 🇳🇱🐸🐀 (@svmoffiziell) November 16, 2023
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Germany Bans its ‘GB News’ in Clampdown on Political Dissent
The decision is ostensibly based on a technical violation: it is, more precisely, the Stuttgart-based television channel SRGT which is prohibited from broadcasting AUF1 programming in Germany. But, as reaction to the ban in the mainstream German media and from activist organisations makes clear, it is in fact the content of the programming that is at issue.
Thus, the self-described “citizens’ movement” Campact, which has campaigned for a prohibition of the channel, celebrated what it called a “victory against Right-wing extremism” by posting the below graphic on X. The top line reads: “Success against Hate and Fake News on TV.” This is gleefully followed by “Far-Right TV-Network Shut Down!”, which is highlighted in red, and then “Our protest works! AUF1 is no longer allowed to broadcast in Germany”. This is all very reminiscent of the campaign against GB News in the U.K., a TV station which occupies a similar role of conservative dissent from the broadcast mainstream.
The selected, er, ‘hate’ figures featuring in the image include two prominent representatives of Germany’s AfD or Alternative for Germany party: Alice Weidel, the party Co-Chair, and Björn Höcke, the head of the party’s parliamentary group in the state of Thuringia.
The AfD is under surveillance by the German domestic intelligence agency, the BfV, for suspicion of “extremism” and is regularly threatened with being banned. The regional party organisations in the eastern states of Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt, where the party enjoys the support of around one-third of the electorate according to the latest polling, have been officially classified as “far-Right” by the BfV.
But sandwiched between the two AfD politicians in the Campact graphic is none other than the former director of the BfV, Hans-Georg Maaßen! Maaßen headed the domestic intelligence agency, whose spying activities are largely devoted to ostensibly “combatting extremism”, from 2012 to 2018. But, in light of his frequent criticism of Government policy and the often heterodox positions he has adopted on a wide variety of subjects in the meanwhile, he has somehow now morphed into an emblem of alleged ‘extremism’ himself.
While its detractors accuse AUF1 of having provided a platform for the ‘far Right’, the channel has in fact, above all, made a name for itself in Austria and Germany for its critical coverage of and frank opposition to Covid-related measures. This is reflected in the below photo with which the German public broadcaster SWR illustrates an article on the banning of the Austrian channel. The SWR article also, incidentally, attempts to highlight the channels’ connections to the AfD and the “far Right”.
The posters, which include the AUF1 logo, read “No to forced vaccination!” and “The pandemic is over. Take off your masks!”
While the banning of AUF1 has been applauded by German activist groups and the mainstream media, there is less unanimity in social media. Thus, in a post which has garnered many hundreds of reposts and likes, X user ‘AntoineRichard’ comments:
Have you heard? #Auf1 has been shut down in Germany! But it’s also important to know that in the best Germany of all time there is no #censorship, but rather #freedomofspeech! This is something we can be really proud of!
This is followed by two emojis:
Robert Kogon is the pen name of a widely-published journalist covering European affairs. Subscribe to his Substack and follow him on X.
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Source
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