The number of crimes targeting journalists in Germany has risen sharply in recent months. This is revealed in the federal government’s reply to a written question from the Left‑party group, which the “Rheinische Post” reported in its Tuesday edition.
As of 31 December 2025, states submitted 818 reports on politically motivated crimes (KPMD‑PMK) with the primary target “media” (Oberangriffsziel, OAZ) to the Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt, BKA) for the period from 1 April 2024 to 30 November 2025. Ninety‑nine of these were classified as violent offences, giving an average of roughly 41 cases per month. By comparison, the government recorded 290 such incidents in 2023 – about 24 per month – a 71 percent increase.
The data also show a strong political colouring among the perpetrators. Of the 818 incidents, 244 (about one‑third) were linked to the right, 78 to the left, 153 to foreign ideology, 31 to religious ideology, and 312 were categorized as “other” when they did not fit neatly into one of the four groups.
Geographically, the distribution is highly uneven. Berlin alone logged 406 cases, almost half of all reports, followed by Saxony (82), Bavaria (64) and North Rhine‑Westphalia (55).
Online incidents are on the rise as well. In calendar year 2024 the BKA recorded 217 crimes against media that listed the internet as the means of attack; by 2025 that number had already climbed to 333, with hate‑speaking posts being the most common form of attack.
David Schliesing, media policy spokesperson for the Left in the Bundestag, expressed alarm at the figures. “The scale of violent assaults and crimes against media workers has reached an alarmingly high level. The federal government and the states must act immediately and do considerably more to protect journalistic work” he told the “Rheinische Post”. “These numbers are frightening, and we must not become accustomed to them” he cautioned.
