Overview
- An analysis presented on October 17 reports that when German TV mentions suspect origin in violent-crime stories, 94.6% refer to non-Germans, with print at 90.8%.
- Police statistics for 2024 show 34.3% non-German suspects in violent crimes, while roughly 70% of media-mentioned foreign suspects are from predominantly Muslim countries versus 15.8% in the official data.
- The study sampled four weeks between January and April 2025 across major broadcasters ARD, ZDF, RTL, Sat.1, ProSieben, Kabel Eins, Vox, RTL2 and national newspapers Bild, Welt, FAZ, Süddeutsche Zeitung, and taz.
- Bavaria now requires police to state suspect origin in press releases as of October 1, with similar obligations in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Schleswig-Holstein, and North Rhine-Westphalia reviewing a comparable step.
- Researchers cite social-media outrage and direct police posts as drivers of editorial choices, while the Press Council warns of stigmatization and criminologists highlight socio-economic risk factors rather than nationality.