Climate activists respond to Springer headquarters in Berlin with demonstration
Climate Activists from "New Generation" Address Independence Concerns at Springer Central in Berlin
On Friday evening, climate activists from the group "New Generation" pasted a response to Springer Central in Berlin in an apparent protest against the newspaper's perceived influence from KKR, a significant investor in the fossil fuel sector.
While KKR's ownership stake in the Axel Springer Group, which includes "Die Welt" and "Bild," ended on May 1, 2025, the activists question the independence of Springer's editorial teams given the close economic ties between the two entities.
In an open letter to Mathias Döpfner, CEO of the Axel Springer Group, the activists expressed their concerns about potential influence exerted by KKR on the group's climate coverage. They argue that the removal of KKR as a shareholder is insufficient to ensure the independence of Springer's editorial teams.
According to Julian Huber, the main author of the response, a wave of resistance is planned to commence starting June 2, primarily targeting the Springer high-rise in Berlin. The protests aim to disrupt the publishing operations, not out of hatred, but out of hope. The activists believe that change begins where people meet and don't look away, and they believe that even Döpfner himself would not want an AfD government.
The axios.com reports indicate that the restructuring between KKR and Axel Springer primarily involved a major corporate restructuring, shifting Axel Springer back to a family-owned media company and separating its classifieds businesses under majority ownership by KKR and CPP Investments. The transaction, valued at $11.1 billion, leaves Axel Springer with a 10% stake in the classifieds operations—primarily Stepstone Group (recruiting) and AVIV Group (real estate)—while focusing its core business on digital journalism and media brands.
As the protest wave approaches, the activists continue to call for a constructive dialogue with Döpfner, emphasizing their hope that the publishing operations can be influenced for the better. The focus of their efforts, however, remains the journalistic independence of Springer's editorial teams.
Featured image: New Generation, Sebastian Gollnow/dpa (image montage)
More on the climate activist group "New Generation":
- Climate Glue Announces Protest Wave Against Springer Publishing
- Final Verdict for Climate Rebels Who Glued to Sistine Madonna
- Climate Activist Slaps Tesla Robot Cake in Face and Walks Away
- The climate activists from the group "New Generation" have voiced concerns about the independence of Springer Central's editorial teams, given their close economic ties with fossil fuel investor KKR, which extends to the science and environmental-science coverage.
- In a general news report, it was revealed that KKR's investment in the Axel Springer Group, a publisher of climate-change related news, could potentially influence its reporting, a claim that the "New Generation" activists strongly argue against.
- The ongoing protests led by the "New Generation" activists are not only focused on the division of KKR and Axel Springer's classifieds businesses, but also on the maintaining of journalistic independence in environmental-science and climate-change reporting at Springer Central and its affiliated publications.
