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Staats(räson)funk: Deutsche Medien und der Genozid in Gaza
Israels Krieg im Nahen Osten gilt in vielerlei Hinsicht als der verheerendste des 21. Jahrhunderts: ermöglicht durch Bomben, Blockaden und eine beispiellose mediale Unterstützung. Wie in kaum einem anderen Land haben Medien in Deutschland nach dem 7. Oktober 2023 die tödliche Realität in der Region verharmlost, gerechtfertigt oder gleich ganz verschwiegen. Welche Methoden Tagesschau, BILD, Spiegel, taz und Co. dabei angewandt haben und wie aus gut ausgebildeten Journalisten Propagandisten eines Genozids werden konnten, zeigt diese Untersuchung. Anhand eigens erhobener Daten und sorgsamer Recherchen liefert das Buch die Anatomie eines Systemversagens irgendwo zwischen Stereotypen, Selbstzensur und Staatsräson.
407 pages, Paperback
Published February 25, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 17, 2026
Eines der wichtigsten Bücher, die ich gelesen habe. Selbst als jemand, der die letzten Jahre das journalistische Versagen deutscher Medien zu Israels endlosen Verbrechen tagtäglich mitbekommen und im Privaten viel kritisiert und diskutiert hat, war ich mit jedem Kapitel aufs Neue entsetzt.
Fabian Goldmann listet die Abgründe der deutschen Medienlandschaft aber nicht einfach nur auf und zeigt, weshalb bestimmte Berichte nicht das ganze Bild zeigen oder oftmals sogar komplett falsch sind, sondern er erklärt auch, wie es dazu kommen konnte, dass tagesschau, taz, Bild & co. zu Propagandisten eines Völkermords werden konnten.
Fabian Goldmann listet die Abgründe der deutschen Medienlandschaft aber nicht einfach nur auf und zeigt, weshalb bestimmte Berichte nicht das ganze Bild zeigen oder oftmals sogar komplett falsch sind, sondern er erklärt auch, wie es dazu kommen konnte, dass tagesschau, taz, Bild & co. zu Propagandisten eines Völkermords werden konnten.
May 2, 2026
Bravo Fabian Goldmann: what an important book. Goldmann meticulously chronicles the (self)destruction of German “Leitmedien” (literally “leading media”!!) in the context of the genocide in Gaza. He looks at both public and private outlets, TV, radio, online and print.
Now why do these outlets like Tagesschau or Der Spiegel ignore the perilous fact that for many years among younger folks trust in their reporting has been eroding at an ever faster pace? (and yes, we know that the kneejerk response in Germany as well as in my adopted “home” country - the US - is usually “KIDS RATHER WATCH TIKTOK THEY HAVE NO ATTENTION SPAN THEY HAVE NO MEDIA LITERACY THEY FALL FOR FAKE NEWS OMG BLABLABLA).
Goldmann examines this question as well and he is incredibly nuanced in his analysis.
You have to read the book - I shall not give you the TL'DR here.
Again: I applaud him for staying calm. I would be furious and frankly I am furious and pissed off at the fact I have to pay monthly fees so 24k often well paid employees of the public broadcasting system in Germany are rewriting press releases handed down to them by the IDF, and - mind you - in some cases adding incredibly offensive language akin to the lowest of the lowest tabloid writing!
Ok, my review is turning into a rant, I know, I know … see? That’s why I could NOT write this excellent book!!!
Anyways: as opposed to the US Germany has a very underdeveloped eco system of independent news. There is no Democracy Now here, there is no Majority Report or any number of smaller online outlets who do well-informed progressive reporting/commentary (Shout out to 99 zu EINS = gold standard for sure!).
And that makes discussing news from Gaza (or other foreign policy issues) a very surreal endeavor: when my wife and I talk to our German relatives about outright lies from Israel’s leadership which is being broadcast without context by any number of German outlets we are looked at as if we were COVID deniers. Our 22-year old son came to me a few months after October 7th 2023 and said “Do you know that ARD is talking bullshit and pushing out fake news during primetime?”
Rant over ... sigh ... was it always like this? Was ARD/ZDF always manufacturing consent, at least via their main primetime news programs? The answer is YES and the shame is mine that I ignored it while I lived in Germany and the shame is an even bigger mine because I presented it to American colleagues as "gold standard" of public journalism when I moved to the US in 1996.
(addendum: also just read Andreas Maier's novel "Der Teufel" about the binary reductive propaganda by omission that Tagesschau has always done since its inception ... further sighs ...)
So back to Fabian Goldmann's book and in closing just these 3 points:
1.) Go go go and get/buy it, read it, gift it to a friend who is addicted to Tagesschau or thinks reading Die Zeit makes him an intellectual
2.) Please Manifest Verlag = work day/night to get this translated into English and then book Mr. Goldmann on EVERY INDIE NEWS OUTLET IN THE WORLD TO DISCUSS IT ALL CAPS
and
3.) Have this old man (yes, I mean me) live long enough to see this book being taught in journalism schools, heck in High Schools for that matter!
That’s it!
I shall now continue reading “The Obsolescence of the Human” by Günther Anders from 1956 which has an interesting section on Radio and TV (hint hint hint Fabian: you will see a lot went through this fella’s mind decades before even I was born!)
Now why do these outlets like Tagesschau or Der Spiegel ignore the perilous fact that for many years among younger folks trust in their reporting has been eroding at an ever faster pace? (and yes, we know that the kneejerk response in Germany as well as in my adopted “home” country - the US - is usually “KIDS RATHER WATCH TIKTOK THEY HAVE NO ATTENTION SPAN THEY HAVE NO MEDIA LITERACY THEY FALL FOR FAKE NEWS OMG BLABLABLA).
Goldmann examines this question as well and he is incredibly nuanced in his analysis.
You have to read the book - I shall not give you the TL'DR here.
Again: I applaud him for staying calm. I would be furious and frankly I am furious and pissed off at the fact I have to pay monthly fees so 24k often well paid employees of the public broadcasting system in Germany are rewriting press releases handed down to them by the IDF, and - mind you - in some cases adding incredibly offensive language akin to the lowest of the lowest tabloid writing!
Ok, my review is turning into a rant, I know, I know … see? That’s why I could NOT write this excellent book!!!
Anyways: as opposed to the US Germany has a very underdeveloped eco system of independent news. There is no Democracy Now here, there is no Majority Report or any number of smaller online outlets who do well-informed progressive reporting/commentary (Shout out to 99 zu EINS = gold standard for sure!).
And that makes discussing news from Gaza (or other foreign policy issues) a very surreal endeavor: when my wife and I talk to our German relatives about outright lies from Israel’s leadership which is being broadcast without context by any number of German outlets we are looked at as if we were COVID deniers. Our 22-year old son came to me a few months after October 7th 2023 and said “Do you know that ARD is talking bullshit and pushing out fake news during primetime?”
Rant over ... sigh ... was it always like this? Was ARD/ZDF always manufacturing consent, at least via their main primetime news programs? The answer is YES and the shame is mine that I ignored it while I lived in Germany and the shame is an even bigger mine because I presented it to American colleagues as "gold standard" of public journalism when I moved to the US in 1996.
(addendum: also just read Andreas Maier's novel "Der Teufel" about the binary reductive propaganda by omission that Tagesschau has always done since its inception ... further sighs ...)
So back to Fabian Goldmann's book and in closing just these 3 points:
1.) Go go go and get/buy it, read it, gift it to a friend who is addicted to Tagesschau or thinks reading Die Zeit makes him an intellectual
2.) Please Manifest Verlag = work day/night to get this translated into English and then book Mr. Goldmann on EVERY INDIE NEWS OUTLET IN THE WORLD TO DISCUSS IT ALL CAPS
and
3.) Have this old man (yes, I mean me) live long enough to see this book being taught in journalism schools, heck in High Schools for that matter!
That’s it!
I shall now continue reading “The Obsolescence of the Human” by Günther Anders from 1956 which has an interesting section on Radio and TV (hint hint hint Fabian: you will see a lot went through this fella’s mind decades before even I was born!)
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews