Florian Farken

This June, the Heinrich Böll Foundation, Washington, DC and Neue deutsche Medienmacher*innen e. V. hosted a public panel discussion on how media outlets should report on elections and campaigns when democracy is under attack. Journalists in the United States and Germany like to see themselves as neutral, non-partisan observers of political events, yet a free and critical press is vital as the fourth pillar of political power to stabilize liberal democracy. This tension comes increasingly to a head when misinformation abounds, poisoning the public discourse, with local and regional media under severe financial strain, and anti-democratic actors directly targeting journalists and the free press. We invited Errin Haines, editor-at-large of the journalistic platform "The 19th," and New York University Professor Jay Rosen—two of the most prominent voices in this U.S. debate—to Berlin. Together with experts from the German media landscape, they discussed what journalists on both sides of the Atlantic can learn from each other and how political reporting must change to meet the challenges of our time. Jay Rosen analyzed the asymmetry in the United States, where the Republican Party has subscribed itself to anti-democratic goals, and criticized the lack of tools at journalists' disposal to report accurately and refute false equivalencies between the two parties. He emphasized that journalists have to insist on reality and see themselves as agents of reality. Errin Haines pointed to the lack of diversity in newsrooms all over the country and their coverage as one of the main reasons why US media have to contend with the erosion of trust among the public: “We started the 19th because we are not accurately reflecting who lives in the country and if we're not doing that then how are we supposed to be covering our politics as honestly and accurately as possible?” Watch the full conversation with Jay Rosen, Errin Haines, Shakuntala Banerjee, Hadija Haruna-Oelker, and moderator Aline Abboud here.

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What role does artificial intelligence play in the creation - and countering - of disinformation?   Lutz Güllner, head of Division for Information Integrity at the European External Action Service, provides his perspective in the latest episode of our #Disinformation and #Democracy series.

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Today, Spatial Foresight together with t33 Sound Policy, ÖIR GmbH and The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw) organised a seminar on the ERDF evaluation of crisis response instruments. This seminar is part of the evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2014-2020, financed by the ERDF and commissioned by DG REGIO (European Commission). We discussed and validated the preliminary findings, as well as drew preliminary conclusions and lessons for future crises and the post-2027 programming period.

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Such an important and relevant topic! I believe that most people still share the same key values - soldarity and equality when it comes to health care systems and supports publicly organized health care system that ensures accessibility and quality of care for all. Trust between stakeholders - politicians, practitioners and people is even more crucial now and will be in the future, for democratic decision-making! Trust can be acchieved (or restored) only through collaboration, inclusion, transparency and by working together we can do it!

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Germany is to hold Federal Elections in February 2025 - what can be expected before this? https://lnkd.in/eHjxY4Ny Following last week’s collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s "traffic light coalition", Serkan Agci at H/Advisors Deekeling Arndt discusses the political situation in Germany and the important developments that will likely happen next. #GermanElections #Bundestagswahl2025 #GlobalLocalExperts #HAdvisorsGlobal #StrategicCommunications

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In recent days and weeks, the public debate in Germany on the constitutionally enshrined 'debt brake' has become more heated again—with considerable risks for both the 2025 budget and the government coalition overall. We are therefore pleased to share with you the recent commentary of our Managing Director, Jan-Peter Olters PhD, on the 'Limits to the limits of fiscal policies'. Finance ministers of all G7 economies are walking a fine line between tolerating too much public debt and allowing too much of a public investment backlog, both of which have growth-inhibiting, if not growth-reversing effects.  https://lnkd.in/d9SJ8XFA

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§§ Norms need to be implemented! This is the key message of a elaborate new position paper (in German language) of which I am really proud: "#Equitable #Scientific #Cooperation #Worldwide". ✅ This position paper has been adopted by the Executive Committee of the German Commission for UNESCO in June 2024, after more than 2 years of work of the Commission's Expert Committe on Science. In particular I thank Anna-Katharina Hornidge of German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), the chair of the Committee, for her strong commitment. Strong thanks also to my colleague #MaximilianMüngersdorff. The launch is on Monday 19 August 3pm CEST. Link to the position paper: https://lnkd.in/etWKXUYK The long position paper is very rich in content, but the key message is simple: Current practice in scientific cooperation of Germany with low- and middle-income countries is not sufficiently equitable! For decades, German government policies and bilateral international agreements have strongly but abstractly demanded that such cooperation should be equitably organized. There have been to few proposals and modalities to make such cooperation #Equitable #InPractice - lack of operationalization is why practice does not live up to affirmations! This is the gap that the German Commission for UNESCO seeks to fill with its position paper. Our new position paper presents 12 concrete suggestions how we can better organize German scientific cooperation with low- and middle-income countries (#LMICs) in such a way, that #equity becomes a #reality. And, in particular, we are convinced that such equity is to the benefit of Germany! If you wish to attend the launch (in German): https://lnkd.in/e8S4Qwen

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📣 Five stories moving soon on dpa international: Clinging on to power­: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz faces the toughest week of his tenure, as he tries to show he can still govern the country after the rancourous coalition split with the pro-business FDP. The opposition smells blood and wants him to bring forward a planned vote of confidence - the first step towards fresh elections. Challenging COP climate: The UN's most important annual climate change meeting, the Conference of the Parties, holds its 29th edition in Azerbaijan from Monday, with dire warnings for what could happen without stronger pledges and firmer action to cut emissions. However, the meeting comes just after the US elected Donald Trump for president, a climate sceptic who previously tried to withdraw the US from the Paris agreement on climate change. Riyadh summit: ­Saudi Arabia is on Monday hosting a joint Arab-Islamic summit to discuss the wars in Gaza and in Lebanon. While certainly being an outlet for Arab and Muslim anger, the summit is highly unlikely to affect the plans of Israel's hardline prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who has vowed to stay on course until he considers the militant Islamist threat posed by Hamas and Hezbollah removed. ­🏈 NFL fever back in Munich: ­Two years after hosting Germany's first-ever NFL regular season match, Munich will again welcome a game on Sunday when the Carolina Panthers and the New York Giants take over the city. While not quite the 2022 showdown between Tom Brady's Tampa Bay Buccanneers and the Seattle Seahawks, tickets for the 70,000-capacity Allianz Arena nonetehless sold out in minutes. ­⚽ League action before internationals: European teams will hope for stellar performances at the weekend before sending their players away for national team duties. In the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich will aim to increase their three-point lead in a trip to St Pauli Hamburg, while RB Leipzig have a home match against league leaders Borussia Mönchengladbach. The Premier League will see Chelsea clash with Arsenal, while Manchester City face Brighton. ­ 📷 Photo: Hannes P Albert/dpa­ ✉ Want more stories? Register for our weekly newsletter: ​​​http://dpaq.de/bPfGB

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Have a look at our new Dods Political Intelligence blog post to find out what to expect from Germany at the upcoming EU elections! 🇩🇪🇪🇺 #EUelections #Germany #EU2024 #2024EUElections

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How much should public transport services be expanded, and who should pay? 🚎 In their new publication in Transport Policy, Florian Lichtin, Keith Smith, Kay Axhausen, and Thomas Bernauer explore public support for expanding public transport (PT) services in Switzerland. Using a factorial experiment, they found that:  1. Strong public support exists for service expansions, particularly for remote regions and when funded by the government.  2. Even if lower ticket prices could lead to some reduction in service levels, over 50% of respondents also expressed support for such PT service designs. People seem to recognize the trade-offs involved when making tickets more affordable. 3. Political preferences shape opinions on funding, but overall support remains high across different groups.  These findings offer valuable insights for policymakers navigating public preferences around PT improvements. Read the full article here:  https://lnkd.in/dQkU2Wmi

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ICYMI: The European Commission has published the responses to its “How to master Europe’s digital infrastructure needs?” white paper, issued in April. The white paper represents the priorities of the outgoing European Commission, which may soon change following the re-election of Ursula von der Leyen as its president. Still, the white paper and its responses will likely inform the Commission’s future priorities. As we reported previously, the section on spectrum policy includes several polarizing ideas, such as a proposal that 6G auction timings should be harmonised across the European Union and that 3G switch-off should be coordinated across Member States. Some of those who responded to the European Commission's consultation on its digital infrastructure white paper thought it focused on the right problems, but many felt it proposed the wrong solutions. https://lnkd.in/eNywb5-V

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As Germany gears up for the next federal election, the political landscape is already heating up, with tensions rising between the parties within Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition. This coalition, composed of the Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens, and the Free Democrats (FDP), was initially built on the premise of cooperative governance and shared policy goals. However, recent setbacks and the specter of future losses are driving a wedge between them, turning allies into de facto rivals. According to senior officials in both the government and the parties, the risk of the coalition disintegrating before the federal election is higher than ever before. #EUToday #Germany #Elections2025

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Introducing the ARENAS literature review: "Defining Extremist Narratives: A Review of the Current State of the Art" by Ana Yara Postigo Fuentes, Rolf Kailuweit, Alexander Ziem, and Stefan Hartmann from University of Düsseldorf. This review dives into how extremist narratives are crafted and spread, distinguishing them from related concepts like hate speech and radicalism. It aims to provide clear guidelines for detecting and preventing these narratives. Download the full review for free: https://lnkd.in/dkDVeFGJ #ARENASproject #HorizonEU #ResponsestoExtremistNarratives CY Cergy Paris Université Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Institut de Ciències Polítiques i Socials - ICPS University of Helsinki CNRS University of Düsseldorf Università degli Studi di Genova University of Cyprus Momentum Educate + Innovate Wateronmars

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Scenario-building in Public Affairs: Managing for process, not outcomes... It has become more common to see scenario planning exercises in Public Affairs departments in Europe. More complex business environments increasing international operations, different policy regimes, sophisticated competitors etc, are factors that have pushed (more) PA pros to regularly run these scenario exercises - which can be a healthy habit. So typically PA pros use some variant of the model below as a starting point (excerted from my book, The Public Affairs Engine). However, this has then created a new bad habit, which is also often seen in sales: endless discussions about how realistic it is to get a “yes” from a lead, or “how many leads are we going to close this month”. Something which is out of your control. Transferred to Public Affairs, I have witnessed endless discussions on how realistic e.g. a new proposed policy or piece of legislation is to get adopted/changed/stopped. I get why this happens. It’s more interesting to discuss the latest political rumours, but it also leads decision-making on to a path based on guessing or “intuition-decisions”. I have seen PA pros be very convincing in their political speculation, but be horrible wrong - without learning anything from it. Scenario exercises are of course relevant to touch upon, but only for a limited time as it often turns into mere speculation. Because its out of your control. So most of the energy should instead be transferred to what you can actually influence: the processes that PA operate in and according to. It is a matter of focus, and there is an opportunity cost to everything you do. And PA pros should be managing (more) for process, not outcomes. #publicaffairs #creatingapaculture

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📢 The State of Lobbying in Europe: Dominik Meier on AI and the Future of Public Affairs 🤖 In the latest episode of "The State of Lobbying in Europe", we feature Dominik Meier, Vice President of PACE - Public Affairs Community of Europe, CEO of Miller & Meier Consulting and chair of de'ge'pol | German Association of Political Consultants. As a leader in public affairs, Dominik shares thought-provoking insights into how artificial intelligence is transforming business models and reshaping the public affairs industry. Dominik emphasizes the urgency of adapting to AI-driven tools, which are revolutionizing tasks like drafting position papers and analyzing massive data sets—such as the archives of Germany’s parliament—in mere seconds. While these technologies promise efficiency, they also demand a fundamental rethinking of consultancy processes and client relationships. 💡 Key points: ✔ The shift from traditional consultancy services to AI-augmented solutions. ✔The importance of standardizing processes to integrate AI effectively. ✔Ethical considerations and the need for open dialogue within associations on responsible AI use. Dominik calls for proactive discussions among public affairs professionals to embrace these advancements while maintaining trust and safeguarding democratic processes. As AI continues to evolve, its implications for lobbying, policymaking, and governance are profound, requiring innovative strategies to navigate this new landscape. ✨ Join us as we explore these pivotal topics with industry leaders across Europe. #PACE #PublicAffairs #LobbyingInEurope #ArtificialIntelligence #Innovation

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The Trump administration’s approach to transatlantic relations came as a surprise to many on the German side. But it was an extension of an increasingly prevalent line of thought among both Republicans and Democrats in the United States. Whatever the outcome of the presidential election tomorrow, Germany needs to become more proactive and self-assured if it wants to bridge the transatlantic divide. Against this backdrop, our recent report provides a strategy roadmap for German policymakers to stabilize and strengthen ties to the United States. To that end, it advances concrete suggestions in four key areas – security, trade, energy, and political culture – as part of an open, pragmatic transatlantic strategy. Read the full report: German: https://lnkd.in/dRfMCsQr English: https://lnkd.in/e-DReA-n

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🗳️ As the #EUelections2024 approach, powerful quotes from the European Parliament's #UseYourVote campaign resonate now more than ever: "Take good care of #democracy when I'm not here anymore" and "You have to #fight for it, you always have to be #vigilant and fight for it." These words underscore why The Battleground was founded in Brussels on Armistice Day 2018, marking a century since the end of the First World War. A recent POLITICO Europe survey of EU lawmakers revealed a concerning rise in far-right populism, with some newly elected MEPs possibly not upholding democratic values. This shift makes The Battleground's role crucial in holding these representatives accountable and deconstructing propaganda that threatens to divide us. In a time when Europe’s stability is at stake—amidst challenges like climate change and geopolitical tensions—the need to defend democracy has never been more pressing. 👉 Support The Battleground's mission to counter the false narratives and propaganda that are eroding trust in politics and the media: https://lnkd.in/ejQ59TBx #DefendDemocracy #TheBattleground #TruthInJournalism #IndependentJournalism https://lnkd.in/eWkk66v2

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