Berlin Antifa Protests Press Freedom at ‘Apollo Nö’ Rally
A left-wing bicycle protest in Berlin's Kreuzberg district turned violent as activists harassed conservative journalists, blocked cameras with umbrellas, and demanded news outlets leave the area.
According to Junge Freiheit, the protest targeted the editorial offices of Apollo News, with support from the local Left Party, which provided an information vehicle to make clear that journalists “are unwelcome in Kreuzberg, in Alt-Treptow, and everywhere else,” as stated on distributed flyers. The left-wing memorial association VVN-BdA and Antifa groups were also represented through their flags.
Max Mannhart, editor-in-chief of Apollo News, and Julian Reichelt, editor-in-chief of Nius, ventured outside with several colleagues to interview the demonstrators. From within the crowd, a speaker loudly called the journalists “dogs running around here with their shit cameras trying to take great pictures.”
Reichelt told Junge Freiheit that “free journalism is supposed to be driven out of Kreuzberg—both Apollo and Nius.” The two reporters received various obscenities in response to their interview requests. Police ultimately had to escort them out of the agitated crowd to prevent physical assaults.
Journalists attempting to cover the demonstration were repeatedly blocked by umbrellas—despite no rain falling—in one of many contradictions characterizing the afternoon. Apollo editor Boris Cherny, who joined Mannhart and Reichelt in the crowd, informed Junge Freiheit that the umbrellas “were partly already misused as weapons.” A camera team from Junge Freiheit was continuously pushed away with opened umbrellas, while an intern was shoved into bushes by demonstrators.
Left Party Politician Renews Expulsion Demand
The demonstration concluded in front of the Nius editorial offices, where Left Party politician Moritz Warnke, calling in from his party’s convention in Potsdam, renewed his demand: “Whether Kreuzberg or Alttreptow, Apollo News and Nius are not welcome.” Warnke is considered the driving force behind the press-hostile campaigns.
In an interview with the local party newspaper Blättchen, Warnke dismissed accusations of attempted intimidation as “fabricated,” claiming that “whining” is simply a “tactic” of the right. Yet in late 2025, the local Left Party chapter distributed a flyer with the barely veiled threat of violence: “Step on the keys of right-wing media.”
The demonstration had been organized by the initiative “Apollo Nö,” ostensibly to protest against what they called the “phantasm of a left-wing opinion dictatorship”—another glaring contradiction, as a left-wing bicycle demonstration advanced to the offices of journalists they opposed.
Single Counter-Protester Supports Press Freedom
A counter-demonstration consisted of exactly one man wearing a bicycle helmet, who persistently held a sign reading “Apollo … a great step for press freedom.” Mannhart later acknowledged him on social media as a “heroic Apollo reader.” The man was “coincidentally” jostled during the rally.
The atmosphere was aggressive and frustrated, according to observers. The chants were excessively long and hardly rousing. The predominantly white, middle-class audience appeared more focused on venting aggressive frustration than enthusiastically saving their neighborhood. Participants listlessly chanted: “Right-wing agitation, we think it’s crap—from Kreuzberg to Treptow rainbow flag.”
Journalists Defiant Despite Intimidation Campaign
Despite the hostility, Apollo editor Cherny expressed defiance when speaking to Junge Freiheit: “We won’t let them get us down.” He acknowledged that due to the police presence on Saturday, he never felt threatened. “But of course in everyday life you do think about whether you’re really always safe,” the journalist added reflectively.
Cherny noted that “we were actually quite glad that the black bloc wasn’t standing there.” He explained that at Apollo’s previous location in Alt-Treptow, there had been repeated minor frictions with left-wing initiatives.
The demonstration against Apollo and Nius revealed the many contradictions in left-wing worldviews, as activists claiming to defend press freedom engaged in precisely the kind of intimidation tactics they claim to oppose. The speaker at the rally was visibly upset that instead of demonstrating against Nazis on Gneisenaustrasse—the address had been publicized in an article by taz—he could have been jumping into a lake on the hot day.
With information from Junge Freiheit
