DThe climate activists of the group “Last Generation” criticize a “wave of allegations, untruths and hate speech” against themselves, according to a report by “Spiegel”. In a statement by the group, which the magazine has received, they accuse the media of not reporting objectively. It is shocking that “the simplest principles in a democracy – such as neutral, fact-based reporting” cannot be relied on.
Since the beginning of the year, members of the “Last Generation” have repeatedly blocked roads and freeway accesses by sticking themselves to the tarmac or abseiling from bridges to draw attention to the climate catastrophe. Most recently, activists stuck themselves to works of art in several museums and poured food like mashed potatoes on valuable pictures.
Public criticism of the group intensified after the rescue operation after a bicycle accident in Berlin was delayed by a few minutes due to a traffic jam caused by the “last generation”, according to research by the Berlin “Tagesspiegel”. The injured cyclist was declared brain dead, according to police on Thursday.
“Let’s not misunderstand each other: It’s terrible that the cyclist had an accident on the road. We are dismayed and in mourning,” says the statement of the “Last Generation”, which was written according to “Spiegel” on Thursday. “But it’s time to draw a line.”
“We knew that something was going to hit us. We knew we would make many enemies,” the statement said. “We did not expect that an entire media system would turn against us.” The group does not consider the reporting about itself to be objective. “Is it comprehensible that a media landscape, which takes up the cause of enlightening society, fictitiously exaggerates a situation in this form and thus delegitimizes democratic protest in a crisis situation?” the group asked in the letter.
The “Last Generation” also announced that they wanted to continue their protests: “Whatever public hate speech we may face as people will not prevent us from doing the only morally right thing: not to remain in an all-important crisis, but to go.”
