RIGHT-CENTER BIAS
These media sources are slight to moderately conservative in bias. They often publish factual information that utilizes loaded words (wording that attempts to influence an audience by appealing to emotion or stereotypes) to favor conservative causes. These sources are generally trustworthy for information but may require further investigation. See all Right-Center sources.
- Overall, we rate Deutschland.de as right-center biased based on story selection that favors the center-right government. We also rate them Mostly Factual in reporting rather than High due to a lack of transparency in ownership and promoting pro-German soft propaganda.
Detailed Report
Bias Rating: RIGHT-CENTER
Factual Reporting: MOSTLY FACTUAL
Country: Germany
Press Freedom Rating: MOSTLY FREE
Media Type: Website
Traffic/Popularity: Medium Traffic
MBFC Credibility Rating: HIGH CREDIBILITY
History
According to their about page, “The Germany portal “deutschland.de” is a service provided by “FAZIT Communication” in cooperation with the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin.” A domain search reveals that the domain was created in 2000. Deutschland.de focuses on news, politics, life, education, business, culture, and the environment. Currently, its director is Hannes Ludwig, and Janet Schayan is the editor-in-chief. For a complete staff list, please see here.
Funded by / Ownership
Deutschland.de is published by FAZIT Communication, the content agency and a subsidiary of F.A.Z.-Group (Frankfurt-based media company). FAZ group is owned by FAZIT-Stiftung (FAZIT Foundation) and the current Chairman is the former managing director of Der Spiegel, Karl Dietrich Seikel. FAZIT-Stiftung (FAZIT Foundation) is the major shareholder of Germany’s conservative newspaper, The F.A.Z.
The Federal Foreign Office of Germany is also mentioned as “in cooperation” with Fazit; however, it is unclear how the Foreign Ministry of Germany is cooperating with Fazit Communication. In summary, the financing of Deutschland.de is not transparent.
Analysis / Bias
Please read our profile on Germany’s government and media for details.
In review, Deutschland.de publishes articles with emotionally loaded language such as “10 Things Germany is doing for the environment. On the issues, they report with the balance representing all sides. For example, regarding the immigration issue, they cover both sides “Take a clear stand.” They also advance pro-science positions regarding climate change, Advancing the cause of climate protection.
When it comes to sourcing, they generally utilize credible sources such as The Public Radio station Deutschlandfunk, RBB24.de (Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg), DPA (German News Agency), Die Tageszeitung (Taz – Left-leaning Newspaper), Berliner Zeitung (Center-Left), The FAZ (Center-Right) and the German Times. When covering world news pertaining to the USA, they cover the Trump administration with a critical tone, such as in this article, “The 2 percent truthers”. A quote from this article reads, “German politics is a thorn in the side of Trump.”
In general, Deutschland.de publishes news factually; however, there is a strong nationalist bias towards Germany, where they select the most favorable information, such as Angela Merkel – Ten Years as German Chancellor. In this article, they quote very favorably toward Chancellor Merkel “What Germans appreciate about Angela Merkel is her modest, sober and unflustered manner, while abroad it is primarily her crisis management that is praised.” In other words, the information on the website is factual, but negative information about Germany is excluded, which we define as soft propaganda because it is not directed through state censorship.
Failed Fact Checks
- None in the Last 5 years.
Overall, we rate Deutschland.de as right-center biased based on story selection that favors the center-right government. We also rate them Mostly Factual in reporting rather than High due to a lack of transparency in ownership and promoting pro-German soft propaganda. (M. Huitsing 6/6/2020) Updated (07/13/2022)
Source: https://www.deutschland.de/
Last Updated on May 22, 2023 by Media Bias Fact Check
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Left vs. Right Bias: How we rate the bias of media sources