GIP Policy Brief 3/26

The series “How does Germany tick?” regularly publishes short reports that make selected facts, figures and analyses from the German Internet Panel (GIP) available to an interested public, journalists and social decision-makers.
The series aims to make an evidence-based contribution to current, particularly controversial social and political debates.

The most important things in short:

• A significant portion of the population feels uncomfortable expressing their opinions in public—not only on controversial issues such as migration or the Israel-Palestine conflict, but also on general political matters and even when criticizing the government.
• The data supports neither the stereotype of the silenced “old white man” nor the assumption that women or foreign citizens would have the least freedom of expression. Perceived inequalities in freedom of expression run along lines of education, East-West differences, and, above all, political views.
• An estimated 5.5 to 8.0 million people in Germany are labeled as “extreme” each year for expressing their opinions.
  Personal attacks on social media due to their political views
  affect 1.9 to 5.1 million people per year. An additional 1.9 to 2.9 million people per year lose friends, 0.6 to 1.5 million experience professional problems, and 0.3 to 0.9 million face legal issues.
• The subjective perception of freedom of expression is significantly shaped by actual experiences of sanctions. This does not mean that it is not also influenced by other sources—but it cannot be dismissed as a “mere feeling.”

GIP Policy Brief 3/26 (in German)