On 21 March, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier – in cooperation with the Bertelsmann Foundation – hosted a panel discussion at Schloss Bellevue as part of the series Forum Bellevue on the Future of Democracy. The third forum was titled Fact or fake? An important distinction for democracy.

The Federal President discussed the relationship between truth and lying in politics, society and the media with panel members Michael Butter (Professor of American Literary and Cultural History, University of Tübingen), Jeff Mason (Reuters White House correspondent), Ulf Poschardt (Editor-in-Chief, Die Welt newspaper) and Julia Stein (Chairwoman, Netzwerk Recherche).

They examined how subjective truths and alternative facts are having an ever greater influence on our debates in society and threaten to undermine them. In media, political and cultural discourse, the dispute over what is factual or fake is no longer exclusively based on verifiable information. Rather, it is shaped by various ideologies, political convictions and sociocultural conditions.

The Federal President and his guests discussed the shifting culture of information and debate, the significance of high-quality journalism for the proper functioning of democratic processes, critical use of the media and genuine dialogue within our societies.