The German government wants to create a hub for independent journalists from regions in crisis in Berlin, the country’s commission for culture and the media announced on Tuesday, MIA informs.
Journalists from countries affected by war such as Ukraine, Russia and Belarus will be given the resources to conduct independent journalism from the German capital, thereby countering Russia’s disinformation campaign, said Claudia Roth, the federal commissioner for culture.
“The war is directed against culture and against democracy,” said Roth, a member of the environmentalist Greens, currently a junior partner in the coalition of Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
She said she would confer with Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser to sort out any visa issues that might arise for the journalists.
“Free and independent journalists are important professionals in democracies,” said Roth.
Roth has invited the G7 ministers responsible for the media to a meeting in Bonn on June 19 and 20 to discuss the issue.
