{"id":5396,"date":"2026-06-09T11:20:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T08:20:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/?p=5396"},"modified":"2026-06-09T11:20:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T08:20:26","slug":"leftists-rage-over-shutdown-of-diversity-radio-station-cosmo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsfire.gr\/en\/leftists-rage-over-shutdown-of-diversity-radio-station-cosmo\/","title":{"rendered":"Leftists rage over shutdown of “diversity” radio station Cosmo"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cosmo, a radio station jointly funded by WDR, Radio Bremen, and RBB with approximately one million euros annually, is set to be shut down by April 2027. According to Nius<\/em>, the closure stems from requirements under Germany’s Reform State Treaty, which mandates that ARD broadcasters reduce their radio programming.<\/p>\n

The decision has triggered considerable backlash in progressive circles. A petition titled “Save Cosmo Radio!” has attracted support from an extensive list of left-leaning figures, including ZDF comedian Jan B\u00f6hmermann<\/strong>, climate activist Luisa Neubauer<\/strong>, and politician Claudia Roth<\/strong>. The Association of D\u00f6ner Producers in Germany (VDD) has also signed on to the campaign.<\/p>\n

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B\u00f6hmermann did not mince words in his criticism. On his Sunday podcast “Fest und Flauschig,” the comedian called WDR’s plan to merge the Cosmo editorial team into youth station 1Live and create a new outlet called “1Live Street” the very last and dumbest thing the broadcaster could do.<\/p>\n

Petition organizers argue that Cosmo represents an essential bulwark in what they describe as dangerous times. They claim the station stands uniquely for cultural diversity and constructive engagement with immigration society challenges, particularly as democracy faces threats from racism, hostility toward humanity, right-wing extremism, and antisemitism.<\/p>\n

The station’s history dates back to August 1998, when it launched as “Funkhaus Europa” before rebranding to Cosmo in December 2016. Its original mission focused on serving the growing population of foreign guest workers who arrived in Germany beginning in the 1960s. WDR and other public broadcasters created so-called “guest worker programs” that played music in the native languages of immigrant workers, including Turkish, Kurdish, and Italian. These offerings were eventually consolidated and supplemented with German-language programming, giving birth to what became Cosmo.<\/p>\n

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From Musical Diversity to Left-Wing Activism<\/h2>\n

While Cosmo’s roots lie in multilingual and culturally diverse musical programming, the station has become better known in recent years for ideologically driven content than for its music selection. The broadcaster’s Instagram presence regularly features politically charged material on society, politics, and everyday life.<\/p>\n

Past posts have included an activist claiming that telling Asian people “You’re good at math!” constitutes a form of racism, which Cosmo presented as explaining “positive forms of racism.” The station also complained that “hardly any trans athletes” participated in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Neither piece included balanced perspective or critical context.<\/p>\n

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A recent Instagram post from Cosmo promoted the trend of “modest fashion,” describing the increasingly popular style of body-covering, non-form-fitting clothing as having origins in cultural and religious dress. The station failed to critically examine whether this trend might represent religious coercion rather than free choice for many women, particularly Muslim women.<\/p>\n

Despite claiming “diversity is not a marketing gimmick for us” and emphasizing that “polarization is not our thing,” several Cosmo posts appear to achieve precisely the opposite effect. The station has featured content from influencer Maraam Tarraf<\/strong>, who previously drew criticism for describing women without headscarves as “half-naked” in a Funk segment and mocking German women as “Alman-Sabines.”<\/p>\n