The controversial weekly newspaper Democratic Resistance no longer lists the Bavarian communication scientist Michael Meyen as co-editor. After just two issues, the name of the scientist who teaches at Munich’s Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) no longer appears in the imprint. Instead, the former sociology professor Rudolph Bauer from Bremen is now named among the four editors. So far, however, Meyen has continued to publish his media column in the newspaper.
In March, Bavaria’s Science Minister Markus Blume (CSU), among others, warned about Meyen’s co-editorship. Meyen’s colleagues from the LMU Institute for Communication Studies and Media Research (IfKW) expressly distanced themselves from the positions published in the newspaper.
The weekly newspaper founded in March 2020 Democratic Resistance based in Berlin was created in the context of the so-called hygiene demos. It offers a platform for radical pandemic deniers and conspiracy ideologies. In the articles and on the website, there is talk of a “fake pandemic” and a “corona dictatorship”. The newspaper is published by the publicist and dramaturge Anselm Lenz, among others, who had called for “hygiene demos” against corona measures from March 2020.
After the announcement of Meyen’s co-editorship, the LMU contacted the responsible Bavarian State Office for the Protection of the Constitution (LfV). A LfV spokesman was initially unable to say when the test could be completed there. An LMU spokeswoman also said it was not known when the process would be completed. Until then, Meyen, like the other professors at the university, will have to carry out his research and teaching duties.
Meyen himself did not initially respond to inquiries from the German press agency. Meyen’s new co-editorship was announced in a YouTube video from the newspaper on March 19. However, in the 128th edition of the newspaper on April 8, Meyen is no longer listed as the editor and Bauer was introduced as the new co-editor.
Meyen has been Professor of General and Systematic Communication Studies at the LMU since 2002. His areas of specialization include journalism and media organization. According to the LMU, the university president and members of the social science faculty have already had talks with Meyen about his activities in the past.