Compact products fly from all platforms
Directly after the ban on media companies behind the far-right "Compact"-Magazine, dealers and platforms react - and remove the products from their assortment. The magazines are no longer available in supermarkets and at gas stations, but many other distribution channels have also stopped.
The press wholesale trade stops supplying supermarkets and gas stations with the "Compact" title and its spin-offs "Compact Edition", "Compact History", and "Compact Magazin Spezial". The Press Wholesale Association informed the German Press Agency on inquiry that the title "Compact" and its spin-offs would be immediately recalled - that is, returned - in the entire press retail trade. "As long as the distribution ban is in effect, no new issue will be delivered."
Customers in the retail trade have been supplied differently. The association mentioned specialist dealers, gas stations, and supermarkets as examples. At the same time, it was stated that the railway bookstore is a separate sales channel.
The ban became known on Tuesday. The "Compact"-Magazine, which is classified as far-right by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, is no longer allowed to appear. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser banned the media company as well as the Conspect Film GmbH. There were searches.
YouTube then suspended two channels related to Compact-Magazin GmbH, as the US company informed dpa on inquiry. If one searched for Compact-TV content on the video platform, it was stated there that the channel, which has hundreds of thousands of subscribers, was not available.
"Compact"-Website is offline
Furthermore, the Compact website was no longer reachable. In addition, Ebay informed dpa that all corresponding articles had been removed from the platform. "The magazine is now illegal and therefore cannot be offered on Ebay naturally."
Faeser justifies the ban by stating that "Compact" is a "central mouthpiece for the far-right scene". She says: "This magazine incites in an abhorrent way against Jews and Jews, against people with a migration background and against our parliamentary democracy." The ban shows, "that we also go after the intellectual arsonists who fan a climate of hate and violence against refugees and migrants and want to overthrow our democratic state."
Compact-Editor-in-Chief Jürgen Elsässer spoke instead to reporters about an enormous interference in press freedom and said: "What we have in Germany today is an undemocratic regime, just like the SED regime was."
- Following the ban on Compact-Magazine, a right-wing extremist publication, eBay also took action and removed all related articles from its platform, citing the magazine's illegal status.
- The German Federal Interior Minister, Nancy Faeser, announced the ban on Compact-Magazine and associated entities, including Conspect Film GmbH, due to their promotion of antisemitic and hateful content against Jewish people, migrants, and democratic institutions.
- The ban on Compact-Magazine's activities extended to online platforms as well, with YouTube suspending two channels linked to Compact-Magazin GmbH, preventing access to their content for its large subscriber base.
