On September 13, 2024, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken falsely accused us of being part of an information war between the imperialistic blocs of the West and East.
We are accused of being part of a “covert operation” designed to push “Kremlin-produced content and messaging […] around the world.” Furthermore, we are accused of manipulating the outcomes of “democratic elections in the United States” and “around the world.”
First and foremost, we categorically reject these entirely false claims.
We do not need to be lectured by “Butcher” Blinken on “freedom of expression” while he is complicit in a genocide in Palestine that has killed more than 40,000 people and over 125 journalists to date.
We don’t need any government or intelligence service to express our deep disbelief in this capitalist system that allows crimes against humanity to occur in Palestine, Ukraine, Sudan, Congo, and across the world as we watch in real-time.
The perpetrators of these crimes are not only the US, Russia, China, or the EU. It is every individual, every state, every media outlet, NGO, and organization that colludes in keeping this deadly system alive. You are all responsible.
We also don’t need to lift a finger vis a vis any elections anywhere. The capitalist system is killing the planet under the weight of its own contradictions, not due to any antagonistic actor’s role in bourgeois elections.
We have much more to say, but for now, let’s be clear about where this attack against us began. Since October 7, we have been at the forefront of covering Germany’s horrifying crackdown on pro-Palestinian voices—a crackdown that has shocked the world, along with UN officials and human rights organizations like Amnesty International.
We knew there was great risk in covering this topic in a country that is one of the leading collaborators in the genocide, but there was simply no way we could look away or stay silent.
IIn May 2024, the German newspaper leading the criminalization of Palestine solidarity, Tagesspiegel, falsely accused us of organizing massive pro-Palestinian protests in Germany, a claim we have already debunked. Fast forward to September 13, 2024: the US State Department not only repeated this absurd and false claim, but used it as evidence that we are part of a covert operation.
Let’s be very clear: If red. did not exist, the unprecedented and powerful protests in Germany and around the world against the genocide in Palestine would still have taken place. The only difference is that fewer people around the world would have known about them—something that would have been very convenient for “Butcher” Blinken, Germany, Tagesspiegel, and all those complicit in the genocide in Palestine.
What the US government and Tagesspiegel do not understand is that they are the cause of these protests, and they will continue to be the targets of dissent as long as they enable and actively support this genocide.
Blinken may have put a target on our backs, but let’s not forget that it was a newspaper, Tagesspiegel, which loaded the gun. We hold Tagesspiegel responsible for any harm to our staff who will continue to be inspired to raise their voices by the brave, wonderful people who take to the streets every day to make this world a better place.
