German speakers shielded from nefarious Russian content

While Europe was busy decorating Christmas trees and googling elaborate recipes and the sweet voices of Mariah Carey and George Michael were heard in supermarkets from Cork to Cluj, Germany took steps to curtail the growth of Russia Today (RT). RT is a news channel, on the surface similar to Bloomberg or CNN, however, appearances are deceiving. RT is an arm of the Russian state and delivers either articles promoting a pro Russian stance, or alternatively, stories meant to discredit Western governments and foster discontent. While the English language version is allowed to continue its operations, the German version has recently been curtailed.

It started with the RT DE YouTube channel. The video platform decided to ban the channel for spreading falsehoods about the coronavirus pandemic. Every reader will be aware of the polarized discussion surrounding government responses to the pandemic. Regardless of your stance on the topic any lover of freedom should be concerned when dissenting voices are silenced. On the other hand, banning foreign actors spreading their version of the truth can hardly be considered as a free speech issue. It seems YouTube, in this case, has made the right decision for the wrong reason. While the German government denied any involvement, opposition party Alternative für Deutchsland (AFD, alternatives for Germany) was quick to denounce the government for delegating its responsibilities to private companies.

Instead of backing down, RT forged ahead and started broadcasting a German language television channel. On December 22, days after the launch, the new channel was already taken down by authorities. The Berlin broadcast authority stated that as the channel is in German, and aimed at a German audience, a German broadcasting permit is needed. As no such permit was applied for, the channel was shut down. For the foreseeable future, Germans will not be able to watch Russian propaganda in their own language on their TVs.

This move could be interpreted in the context of recent tensions with Russia over the situation in Ukraine and energy supplies. However, the German government denies that they directly intervened. From our perspective the German position seems reasonable, albeit that they are hereby also avoiding to take a clear position. Be that as it may, the Russian government holds Berlin responsible and promised retaliations.

The incident highlights the difficult situation that Western governments find itself in. On the one hand, the West is committed to freedom of speech both at home and abroad. For instance, when the Russian government shut down NGO Memorial last month because of its foreign funding, Western government vehemently protested. On the other hand, Europeans are rightfully concerned about foreign governments influencing public opinion online. As I outlined previously in a video, it is important to distinguish these foreign actors from citizens who have diverging opinions. It is important not to throw away the opposition baby with the foreign actor bathwater. For now the German government relies on private companies and only acts decisively when German speakers are specifically targeted.

For now this compromise seems tenable, however, the future will show if it remains so. Germans who get their information from television are shielded from the RT content. On the other hand, those Germans who get their information online, and in English as well, are still being reached by RT and other foreign sources of information. The German government has to be wary not to imbue the Tech giants with too much power, has to deal with foreign pressure, and has to be wary of content from non traditional sources as well.