German media disproportionately cover crimes where suspect is “foreign”

German media outlets disproportionately report on violent crimes where the suspect is “foreign”, non-German or has a recent migration background, compared to the overall number of violent crimes where the suspects belong to these groups.

Non-Germans overrepresented in German media crime stories

According to a new report conducted for Mediendienst Integration by journalism professor Thomas Hestermann, violent crimes in which the suspect is “foreign” are far overrepresented in German media coverage.

In 2024, a quarter of German TV crime reports named the suspect’s nationality, residence status or family origins (Herkunft) and in 94,6 percent of these reports, the suspect was a non-German and or had a recent migration background. 

A third of print media crime reports referred to the suspect’s Herkunft, and in 90,8 percent of these reports the suspect was non-German and or had a recent migration background.

But according to Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt) statistics, in only 34,3 percent of violent crimes in 2024 was the suspect non-German and or had a recent migration background. 

Reports from all major German-language media outlets were considered in the study, including ARD, ZDF, RTL, Bild, Süddeutsche Zeitung, FAZ, Welt and taz. 

Media outlets were considered to have explicitly attributed a foreign origin to the suspect if they mentioned a non-German familial or residential connection, “e.g. Turkish or southern European of Arab parents) or the mention of a status that is only possible for non-Germans (e.g. civil war refugee, asylum seeker)”.

German media highlights suspects from predominantly muslim countries

Hestermann also found that media reports did not only disproportionately cover violent crimes when the suspect is “foreign” but also disproportionately cover violent crime stories when the suspect is “foreign” and has a migration background from a predominantly muslim country.

70 percent of suspects covered in German media reports on violent crime in 2024 had a migration background from a predominantly muslim country. In contrast, according to BKA statistics, in only 15,8 percent of violent crime cases in 2024 did the suspect have a migration background from a predominantly muslim country.

To read the full report (in German), head to the Mediendienst Integration website.