On Tuesday, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser announced that the far-right Compact magazine has been banned due to its promotion of "extremist" views and "anti-Semitic conspiracy theories." She ordered the publication to cease printing paper copies, shut down its website, and remove all content from its YouTube channel. Compact will have an opportunity to appeal, though should it fail, the state could seize its assets.

Founder and editor-in-chief Jürgen Elsässer has long advocated for an "overthrow" of the "regime," and championed the creation of another East Germany with far-right politician Björn Höcke as its leader and "German-Russian battalions" protecting its border.

Elsässer called the ban "dictatorial," suggesting it was the worst attack on the press Germany has seen in decades. "You are treating us like a mafia, like a terrorist group," he said, per the Straits Times, "but we are a legal press organ with a clean criminal record. This makes it clear that the only aim is to destroy the opposition and us as the strongest media. We are already in contact with lawyers."