Episode 5: Alexander Roth - Smeared and threatened by the far-right next door

What's it like to work as a journalist in Germany with far-right groups living next door?

Alexander Roth is deputy editor of the online edition of Waiblinger Zeitung, in the outskirts of Stuttgart, one of the strongholds of the far-right and conspiracy movements of the so-called Reichsbürger scene, considered by Germany the single most prominent threat to its democracy.

Roth has been investigating these movements since the onset of the pandemic, exposing the links between the far-right, its political arm and anti-vaxx groups. His work has made him a preferred target of this movement, which frequently shouts out his name at rallies which, in turn, has triggered a barrage of veiled death threats and smear campaigns that labeled Roth as a mouthpiece of a corrupt elite.

Hear in this episode from Roth about his own experience but also from the journalists of the TAZ investigative unit, Christian Jakob, Jean-Philipp Baeck and Luisa Kuhn, on how they conducted the investigation into his case.

Guests: Alexander Roth, Christian Jakob, Jean-Philipp Baeck and Luisa Kuhn.

Producer and Host: Javier Luque, head of digital communications at IPI.

Link to the full report: Alexander Roth - Smeared and threatened by the far-right next door