Support boycott of goods
SWR separates from presenter because of stance on Israel
April 8, 2024, 8:55 p.m
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A SWR presenter supports the boycott of products made in Israel on her private Instagram profile. In a video she explains that she does not want to support the Israeli economy with her purchases – and is therefore now relieved of her duties by the SWR.
Public broadcaster SWR has relieved a presenter of her duties after she called for a boycott of Israeli goods. Helen Fares had “repeatedly expressed extreme political positions on her private social media account,” said the broadcaster in Stuttgart. She will therefore no longer moderate SWR’s digital dialogue format “MixTalk”.
According to the statement, the broadcaster had pointed out to Fares “that moderators of a debate format have an obligation to be neutral in order to protect the independence and credibility of the program.” “Ms. Fares missed this neutrality in her social media activities.”
The broadcaster explained that SWR has clear rules for dealing with statements on social media. “Even though journalists can of course have a political opinion, the independence of the SWR and every single employee must not be impaired or called into doubt by social media activities,” the statement said. “The SWR believes that this principle has been violated in this specific case.”
The broadcaster pointed out that Fares recently posted a video on her private Instagram account in which she recommended an app that could identify supermarket goods that were either produced in Israel or whose manufacturers financially support Israel. In the video, Fares stated that she no longer wants to buy products that strengthen the Israeli economy. Fares had previously called for a boycott of Israeli products, SWR criticized.