The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) welcomes the decision of the German Press Council held on 11 December 2025 upholding the duties of accuracy, fairness and the protection of personal honour in a case involving a palestinian press photographer.
The case arose from a complaint lodged against an online article published on 5 August 2025 by Bild, Germany’s largest tabloid owned by Axel Springer, questioning the authenticity of certain photographs from Gaza taken by Palestinian photojournalist Anas Zayed Fteiha and depicting him as a Hamas propagandist.
The article alleged that some images were deliberately staged to serve Hamas propaganda and linked these claims to the photographer’s professional work and social media activities, describing the photographer as an “activist disguised as a photographer”, referring to him as an “opinion fighter”, and repeatedly placing professional terms such as “photographer” and “journalist” in quotation marks.
In its ruling delivered on 11 December 2025, the German Press Council found that the Bild article breached Sections 2 (Diligence) and 9 (Protection of Honour) of the German Press Code.
The Council ruled that describing the individual as an “activist disguised as a photographer”, referring to him as an “opinion fighter” and placing the term “photographer” in quotation marks were not sufficiently substantiated by facts. The Council held that these formulations suggested deception and a lack of professional legitimacy thereby violating both the duty of care and the individual’s honour of the code of ethics.
The IFJ welcomed the decision of the Press Council.
IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said: “I would like to thank Dr Wolfgang Mayer, member of the DJU-Verdi union and former member of the IFJ Executive Committee, for filing the complaint with the Press Council.This decision is an important reminder that ethical journalism requires accuracy and must avoid contributing to hatred and discrimination. Journalists have a responsibility to scrutinise propaganda without resorting to unsubstantiated accusations or language that undermines people’s integrity.”
Wolfgang Mayer, who filed the complaint, said: “Together we stand. The decision of the German press council is just a small example of why we must raise our voices against the discrimination of journalists.