MOSTLY FALSE: It is simply false that we have restrictions on press freedom in Germany or in Europe.

According to the annually published World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the state of global press freedom is worse than at any point in the index’s 25-year history. More than half of the world’s countries are now classified as “difficult” or “very serious” for press freedom. Several European countries, including Germany, have…

Mostly false: “More journalists killed in Gaza war than in both world wars combined”

An article by “Al Jazeera” from March 2026 claims that “more journalists have been killed in Gaza since the Gaza war began on October 7, 2023, than in the US Civil War, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, Vietnam War, the wars in the former Yugoslavia and the coalition invasion of Afghanistan –…

Mostly False: “85% of the crimes committed against journalists go uninvestigated and unpunished.”

On May 3rd, during the global observance of World Press Freedom Day, United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres delivered a speech regarding the safety of media professionals, marking the occasion and highlighting the systemic failures that continue to obstruct the work of the press and endanger lives worldwide. In his speech he made the claim:…

Mostly false: “The problem is mass migration. Flooding our streets with men from women-hostile cultures = abuse, violence, murder”

In October 2025, Sebastian Kruis, politician for the Dutch Party for Freedom (PVV), posted a controversial statement on his X profile: “The left says the problem is men. Wrong. The problem is mass migration. Flooding our streets with men from women-hostile cultures = abuse, violence, murder.” The post appeared two months after the murder of…

Mostly False: “A ban on new internal combustion engine cars achieves nothing for the climate”

Does a ban on new internal combustion engine cars achieve nothing for the climate? This statement was made by German CDU politician Manuel Hagel in the context of the debate over the planned EU-wide ban on new registrations of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles starting in 2035. Hagel argued that the EU-wide ban on new…

Mostly False: “More than 270,000 Germans emigrated last year because they are dissatisfied”

Dominik Kettner, entrepreneur and precious metals expert, and Dieter Bohlen claim in an interview published on 15 November 2025: “Over 270.000 Germans emigrated last year. And we know that these are high achievers: engineers, entrepreneurs, doctors.” (time stamp: 28:05) According to Bohlen, the reason for the emigration is the dissatisfaction of Germans due to the…

Mostly false: “Mass migration has not solved the shortage of skilled workers or eased the pension system”

In June 2025, Alice Weidel, leader of the radical right-wing party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), stated that mass migration had not helped the German labour market, had not alleviated the pension crisis and, on the contrary, had overburdened the social system. These statements are in line with the broader rhetoric of the AfD, and are…