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Police in Berlin are urging citizens to report each other over suspected “hate speech” online, as part of a nationwide crackdown that critics say resembles East Germany’s surveillance state.
The clampdown comes amid growing public support for the anti-establishment Alternative for Germany (AfD), particularly in the east of the country, where the party has made significant electoral gains.
The latest escalation came on Wednesday, June 25th, when police carried out coordinated raidsacross the country, searching homes and confiscating the electronics of 170 people over social media comments that either fall in the general ‘hate speech’ category or just insult sitting politicians.
As part of the operation, police in Berlin are calling on citizens to inform on each other by taking screenshots of online posts that are perceived as evidence of ‘hate speech.’
The police’s appeal met with harsh backlash among social media users, with some noting that this harkens back to the darkest chapters of Germany’s past, particularly the surveillance practices of the Stasi in East Germany.
One user commented that it is ironic that the raids happened on the birthday of George Orwell. Another said the police should focus on catching real criminals. A third questioned whether the police would go after hateful left-wing activists with the same vigour.
Many of the users bemoaned that the rule of law in Germany has come to an end.
Meanwhile, in Thuringia—the very state where the AfD scored its first major political breakthrough—the regional government’s Kampf gegen Rechts (Fight Against the Right) program has come under heavy criticism from the state’s own Court of Auditors.
The institution issued a scathing report accusing the government—led by the centre-right CDU, the social democrats, the left-wing BSW, and supported by the far-left Die Linke—of mismanaging taxpayer funds with regard to its so-called anti-extremism projects.
Since 2011, Thuringia has funded initiatives—mostly run by left-wing groups—aimed at combating suspected right-wing extremism and so-called “anti-democratic ideologies.”
According to the report, Thuringia is the only federal state in Germany funding two separate research institutions focused on combating right-wing extremism—both with overlapping roles.
The program is implemented through the State Democracy Center (LDZ), which allocates taxpayer funds to various left-wing initiatives, organises training, and coordinates publicity and research.
The Court of Auditors found major inefficiencies, including flat-rate payments for training and administrative costs that exceeded actual expenses.
The state was found to co-finance federal anti-extremism initiatives at disproportionately high levels. While the federal government required only a 10–20% contribution from states, Thuringia voluntarily covered nearly 50%.
Rather than strengthening democratic values, critics argue these campaigns are being used as tools of ideological enforcement—designed to marginalise dissenters—especially AfD voters—and consolidate political control.
