Overview

• The CDU summer reception on August 17 was held at CompuGroup Medical in Koblenz, whose founder Frank Gotthardt is identified as a key funder of the online portal Nius, with photos showing Julia Klöckner greeting him.
• In her remarks Klöckner said the methods of Nius and the left‑leaning taz were "not so very dissimilar," drawing condemnation from the German Journalists’ Association as an inaccurate and inappropriate comparison.
• Left leader Heidi Reichinnek urged Klöckner to resign, SPD and Greens officials labeled the comparison unacceptable, and the Bundestagspräsidium and CDU defended her attendance as a routine party invitation.
• Regulators have previously faulted Nius for breaching journalistic diligence in at least one case, and the portal was cited in coverage for its role in a campaign that helped derail a judicial nomination earlier this year.
• Reporters noted overlaps between parts of Klöckner’s speech and an INSA press release, a small protest took place outside the venue, and she remains in office with no formal sanctions announced.