German media frenzy after journalist slams online hate speech against refugees
http://www.dw.com/en/german-media-frenzy-after-journalist-slams-online-hate-speech-against-refugees/a-18632107
German journalist Anja Reschke has caused a stir across German social media after condemning the rise of hate comments against asylum seekers online. She has called for an "uprising of all decent people."
German media frenzy after journalist slams online hate speech against refugees
Kate Brady
06.08.2015
The huge debate in Germany comes amid the ever-increasing number of asylum seekers arriving in the country. In July alone, the German Federal Office for Migrants and Refugees (BAMF) reported a "record" monthly influx of 79,000 refugees - most of whom had arrived from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Current figures estimate that Germany will receive as many as 600,000 asylum applications in 2015.
As the number of refugees has increased, there has also been a simultaneous rise in xenophobic sentiment, which has taken a particularly strong hold of Germany's social media.
In the past, racism and xenophobia were often attributed to right-wing groups, but hidden behind their computer screens, it has become difficult to determine exactly who the perpetrators are.