Journalist wins right to call NGO’s Islamophobia statistics fraudulent
A Hamburg court ruled that a journalist may legally call government-funded NGO statistics on anti-Muslim incidents fabricated, marking a significant press freedom victory in Germany.
The Hamburg Regional Court dismissed on Tuesday the bulk of an injunction application filed by CLAIM, a non-governmental organization that receives millions in state funding, according to Junge Freiheit. The court found that describing the organization’s claims as falsified constitutes permissible opinion.
Die von der #Bundesregierung mit Millionen geförderte NGO Claim wollte mir gerichtlich meine Aussage bei #Lanz verbieten lassen, dass ihre Zahlen über einen Anstieg antimuslimischer Vorfälle eine „glatte Fälschung“ seien. Das Landgericht Hamburg hat mir jetzt zu diesem Punkt…
— Sascha Adamek (@SaschaAdamek) August 12, 2026
The legal dispute arose after Sascha Adamek, an investigative journalist for Focus magazine, appeared on the ZDF talk show “Markus Lanz” in mid-June and challenged the methodology behind CLAIM’s annual report on anti-Muslim incidents. He stated that the organization’s figures were not clean and represented a blatant fabrication driven by alarmism.
CLAIM had reported in its annual situation report that anti-Muslim incidents increased by 114 percent in 2023 compared to the previous year. For 2024, the organization claimed a further 60 percent rise. However, Adamek pointed out that during the same period, CLAIM expanded its reporting centers from ten to 26 locations.
When pressed by the journalist, CLAIM acknowledged that adjusting for the increased number of reporting centers yielded a significantly lower growth rate. The actual increase for 2024 was 35 percent, not 60 percent as originally stated. The court ruling noted that Adamek is permitted to characterize this as the organization admitting to inaccuracies in its reporting.
Government Ministers Used Inflated Statistics
The flawed statistics had already been used by government officials to warn of rising anti-Muslim sentiment. Former Federal Minister for Family Affairs Lisa Paus of the Green Party cited CLAIM’s figures when stating that there were more than five anti-Muslim incidents per day in 2023, compared to just two per day in 2022.
The court did rule against Adamek on one narrow point, finding he could not claim that CLAIM remained silent in response to his accusations, as the organization had responded to his inquiries by asserting that even adjusted figures showed a considerable increase.
Journalist Demands End to Government Funding
Adamek praised the ruling and said the NGO’s attempt to obstruct public criticism of its handling of facts had failed. He expressed frustration that an organization primarily funded by taxpayers would seek to restrict freedom of expression.
The journalist called on the federal government to reconsider funding for CLAIM and to cease using the term “anti-Muslim racism” in official contexts. His attorney, Carsten Brennecke of Höcker law firm, described the verdict as a clear signal that investigative journalism exposing such inconsistencies is protected by freedom of speech and press.
CLAIM was established in 2017 as a joint project of several organizations and became a non-profit limited liability company in 2024. It is funded entirely by government sources, including through the “Democracy Lives!” program. In 2025, the federal government allocated over 603,000 euros to multiple CLAIM projects, according to official figures.
With information from Junge Freiheit
