Part of a libe­ral demo­cracy is the right to the free­dom of opi­nion. Regard­less of the dis­tri­bu­tion chan­nels used, jour­na­li­stic and edi­to­rial offers fos­ter the dis­course in society. They inform, enter­tain, sti­mu­late dis­cus­sions, offer back­ground infor­ma­tion, con­vey values and, by doing so, make a cru­cial con­tri­bu­tion to the opi­nion-forming pro­cess. The free­dom of the press, the free­dom of broad­cas­ting and the free­dom of opi­nion are an indis­pensable part of Ger­man democracy.

Dis­in­for­ma­tion, hate speech or inci­te­ment to vio­lence must be reso­lut­ely oppo­sed in any demo­cracy. Those who fight against the prin­ci­ples of libe­ral demo­cracy must face the full force of the law.