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Together for good journalism about science

Together for Fact News

Free research and independent journalism are two pillars of our liberal democracy and important in public debates. We want to remind everonme of this. Both are threatened wherever disinformation and abuse of power prevail. Only independent evaluation of scientific knowledge through good journalism can create trust in the public - we are convinced of this. We have therefore launched the Together for Fact News initiative.

The initiative is about a concern that moves not only us, but also many researchers and media professionals: to stand up for competent, independent and honest journalism about science. We are united by a commitment to knowledge

"In times when powerful actors spread lies, disinformation and confusion in their own interests, we are looking for researchers and journalists as ambassadors who stand up for reliable knowledge in public debates. And stand by it. Together for FactNews," says Volker Stollorz, our executive director in a short video of the initiative.

Follow us on Twitter #TogetherforFactNews and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
 

The head of the Infectiology Section of the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) Prof. Dr. Marylyn Addo is committed to the initiative: "Science, not Silence! Only facts and transparency can ensure an informed public". The full interview with her can be found here on the Together for Fact News website.

Prof. Dr. Christian Drosten, Director of the Institute of Virology at the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, confesses: "The pandemic has shown: Measures can only work if people understand the principles behind them. This requires knowledge-based communication". You can find the short portrait film about him, the complete interview by Volker Stollorz with him in picture and sound and for further reading on the website of Together for Fact News.

Professor of Medical Ethics at the Technical University of Munich and Chair of the German Ethics Council, Prof. Alena Buyx, says in an interview with Volker Stollorz at Futurium, the House of the Future in Berlin "If science journalism were to die out, we would indeed have a translation problem".

In an interview with Volker Stollorz, the doctor, science journalist and presenter Dr. Eckart von Hirschhausen says: "Everyone has the right to their own opinion. But not to his own facts". Read the whole interview here.

Dr Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim, the well-known YouTuber from maiLab and from Terra X on ZDF, also professes her support for the initiative in an interview with our managing director at Goethe University Frankfurt am Main on the Westend Campus and at the Museum für Kommunikation, Frankfurt, and says: "Scientific evidence should be the lowest common denominator in our social debates. With a lowest common reality, we don't just argue in place, we argue forward". You can watch the short portrait film or read the whole interview here.

The President of the German Rectors' Conference (HRK), Prof. Dr. Peter-André Alt, said in an interview with Volker Stollorz in Berlin: "Democracy thrives on informed, public discourse - independent science journalism is indispensable for this. I would like to continue to be committed to this as President of the German Rectors' Conference". Read the whole interview here.

The internationally renowned behavioural economist from Bonn confesses in an interview with Volker Stollorz: "Modern societies absolutely need trust in science. If it were lost, that would be a huge problem for a democratic society. Populists are working on deconstructing trust in science by saying: researchers don't agree - even if it's complete nonsense. This has to be strongly opposed". Read the whole interview here.

The President of the European Research Council ERC, Prof. Maria Leptin, said in an interview with Volker Stollorz: "Facts are important for scientists. And we have to do everything we can to make sure that it is understood that facts are facts. There must be no whitewashing".