Reporters Without Borders logs 55 attacks on journalists in Germany

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Tuesday warned of intimidation and violence against journalists in Germany, citing growing security risks linked to an increasingly polarized social climate.

In a statement released in Berlin to accompany its new report on the state of press freedom in Germany, RSF said journalists were facing particular dangers at demonstrations and during reporting and filming in far-right environments.

Isolated incidents involving attacks by security forces or from the far-left scene were also reported.

According to the group, a total of 55 attacks on media workers and newsrooms were documented and verified last year, down from 89 in 2024.

Reporters Without Borders also noted that the situation for press freedom at pro-Palestinian demonstrations and the role of the police had been the subject of heated debate.

RSF report on ‘Press Freedom’ in Germany also sheds light on many other aspects of press freedom, for example on the topics of legislation and surveillance, and for the first time, deals with the special challenges surrounding Middle East reporting for German journalists.

In discussions over what constitutes anti-Semitism and what represents legitimate criticism of the Israeli government, individual journalists were personally defamed and subjected to online smear campaigns, RSF said.