External investigation
Deutsche Welle is investigating allegations of anti-Semitism
The name “Deutsche Welle” is on a pane of glass. (Archive image) Photo: Marius Becker / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
The “Süddeutsche Zeitung” had raised allegations against employees of Deutsche Welle in an article. Anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli statements are said to have been posted.
According to a report in the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” about allegations of anti-Semitism against several employees of Deutsche Welle (DW), the station has the allegations checked externally.
A spokesman for the German international broadcaster announced on Tuesday evening: “At the order of the artistic director, DW will immediately commission an independent external investigation.” The allegations made in the article against some employees of the Arabic editorial team as well as freelance employees of the station abroad are therefore being examined in detail.
Anti-Semitic and anti-Israel
The newspaper had previously published an online article entitled “A station is looking away”. The “SZ” reports that several employees are said to have posted anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli statements on the Internet in recent years and that these entries were later deleted.
The Deutsche Welle also said: The investigation will deal with the statements cited in the article by DW employees in other publications and their private profiles on social media. The Deutsche Welle law and the behavior at the broadcaster clearly stipulate which values all employees must respect and represent internally and externally. “The editor-in-chief’s code clearly shows which journalistic principles they have to observe when dealing with anti-Semitism.”
After an initial check, the broadcaster will “immediately draw conclusions if violations of these rules prove to be true”.