extremism
Fight against hatred on the net – nationwide searches
The hashtags hate and hate in a Twitter post on a smartphone screen. Photo: Fabian Sommer/dpa/symbol image
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Hatred and hate speech online are often directed at politically active people. Politicians from all parties are affected. But those who post hate should also expect unexpected visitors.
In the fight against online hate against politicians, investigators interviewed numerous suspects nationwide on Tuesday and searched houses and apartments.
The action was directed against more than 100 suspects in 13 federal states, as the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) in Wiesbaden and the Frankfurt Public Prosecutor’s Office jointly announced. The background to the day of action is publications on social media platforms in connection with the federal elections last autumn.
“More than 600 statements were analyzed and checked for criminal content,” it said. “Freedom of expression reaches its limits when it comes to defamation, insults and threats. With the action day, we are making it clear: Anyone who posts hate messages must expect the police to be at the door afterwards, »said BKA President Holger Münch.
Mainly affects women
According to the information, the crimes are on the one hand insults against well-known politicians from all parties represented in the Bundestag. Two-thirds of those affected are women. On the other hand, the hate postings would contain misleading false reports and publicly documented false quotes “which appear suitable for defaming and discrediting those affected”.
There were searches and investigations in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Saxony and Thuringia.
«This day of action illustrates the extent to which officials and elected officials are insulted, slandered and threatened on the Internet. In order to prevent the withdrawal of those affected from reaching a level that endangers democracy, we are prosecuting these crimes consistently,” said the Hessian Attorney General, Torsten Kunze. The Central Office for Combating Internet Crime is located at the Frankfurt Public Prosecutor’s Office.