#rp25 speaker Sally Lisa Starken & Franzi von Kempis: What we can do to counter the normalization of right-wing extremism

No matter where we look for it, radical forces  know how to generate attention, spread their messages and stay in people's minds - regardless of whether their content is based on facts or not. This method of far-right actors pushes the boundaries of what can be said and thus poses an increasing danger - especially for marginalized people who are most affected by far-right violence. It further poses challenges for the media, politics and society in general. What does today's news coverage need if it wants to strengthen basic democratic values and take into account the feelings, wishes and realities of all people? 

At re:publica 25, Sally Lisa Starken and Franzi von Kempis will be discussing the question of how we can strengthen democratic content and our scope for action - both in political debate and everyday life.

In her latest book 'Zu Besuch am rechten Rand. Warum Menschen AfD wählen' (‘Visiting the far-right margin. Why people vote for the AfD’), Sally Lisa Starken tries to find answers to this question. For that, she spoke to voters of AfD (‘Alternative for Germany’) – which in parts is classified as right-wing extremist. In doing so, she tried to understand why people actually support the party and was able to center people’s fears, anger and personal life stories - as well as the question of how we can address them. In addition to her work as a journalist, author, content creator and moderator, she regularly provides information on political topics in her news podcast ‘Die Informantin’ (‘The informant’). Her first children's book ‘Toni aus der Orangenkiste – Was ist eigentlich Demokratie?’ (‘Toni from the box of oranges - What exactly is democracy?’) has just been published in 2023.

Franzi von Kempis is a communication and political consultant and former CEO of several NGOs and a vaccination center in Berlin. In her book ‘Anleitung zum Widerspruch’ (‘Instructions for contradiction’) she provides arguments against prejudices and populism. Her weekly newsletter ‘Adé AfD’ (‘Goodbye AfD’) also provides information on dealing with right-wing extremism and tips for better debates.