The center-right bloc of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU) and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) are negotiating the terms for forming a governing coalition. How to plug the huge hole in the budget had been expected to become a major sticking point: At the beginning of their exploratory talks, they determined that at least €130 billion ($139 billion) are missing in state coffers for the next four years.

But that is not all. Top German economists have calculated that about €400 billion will be needed to further arm the German military in the coming years. And up to €500 billion will be required to revamp Germany's ailing infrastructure, including roads, bridges and railroads.

The potential coalition partners are now drawing conclusions from these figures: They want defense spending over 1% of gross domestic product to be exempt from the restrictions of the debt brake enshrined in Germany's constitution, which severely restricts the state from taking out loans.

"In view of the threats to our freedom and peace on our continent, 'whatever it takes' must now also apply to our defense," the CDU chairman and likely next German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, said on Tuesday evening.

In addition to lifting the debt ceiling, a new special fund of €500 billion would be set up for infrastructure spending for a period of 10 years. The federal states would receive €100 billion of this. "We are finally clearing the investment backlog in our country," said SPD leader Lars Klingbeil.

An amendment to the debt brake should also allow the federal states to take out debt to the tune of 0.35% of their economic output. This was previously only possible for the federal government.

Next week, the CDU/CSU and SPD parliamentary groups want to hold a session of the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, to introduce and pass the motions to amend the Basic Law. This requires a two-thirds majority. The caretaker parliament can reach that quota if the Green Party lawmakers support the CDU/CSU/SPD motion.

The new parliament elected on February 23 must convene no later than March 24. In the new composition, the Green Party is diminished, as is the SPD. Therefore, a two-thirds majority would require either the Left Party or the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) to support the CDU/CSU and SPD in their motion, which is very unlikely: The AfD rejects any change to the debt brake, while the Left Party opposes any increase in military spending.

Special funds to bypass the debt brake

In 2024, the entire federal budget amounted to €467 billion, €25 billion of which were loans, whilc the rest came from taxes and other revenues.

But there is a way to bypass the debt brake: Loans can be taken out as special funds called "Sondervermögen" which are then counted as state assets and managed separately, so the debt brake does not apply to them. They do not have to be approved by parliament every year, but only once with a two-thirds majority in both the Bundestag and the upper house of the German parliament, the Bundesrat. They can then be spent over a period of years.

Two special federal funds were launched in 2022. The first as a consequence of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Bundestag approved a credit line of €100 billion to rearm the Bundeswehr, which had been neglected for decades. This money will be used up by 2027. A second special fund with a credit line of €200 billion euros was set up to support the ailing economy in the subsequent energy crisis.

In 2023, the federal authority that monitors the budget and economic management of the federal government criticized these "special assets" in a report stating that it would be more accurate to speak of "special debts," describing them as "largely outsourced debt pools."

The Federal Audit Office has calculated that the larger existing special funds alone total about €869 billion. Only a tenth of this is based on assets. The office counted a total of 29 special funds, the oldest of which dated back to the 1950s, set up after World War II for reconstruction and financed largely by the United States as part of the so-called Marshall Plan.

In 2008 a large special fund was set up to offset the financial crisis, and, in 2020, the Economic Stabilization Fund (WSF) was set up to counteract the economic and social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the national economy.

In 2023, the Federal Constitutional Court ruled that the €60 billion in the COVID-19 fund that had not been spent could not be repurposedfor policy measures such as mitigating the effect of climate change.  This dealt a major blow to the three-way center-left government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, which ultimately collapsed in November 2024.

Expenditure on interest is enormous

Now considerable additional debts will likely be added on top of existing loans and would be counted toward the national debt under EU debt rules. In the EU member states, the debt level may not exceed 60% of economic output. Countries with a debt level above this face penalty payments if they don't reduce their debt ratio.

Loans are taken out on the financial market, so interest needs to be paid. Over decades, Germany has amassed a mountain of debt totaling €1.7 trillion. In 2024, €33 billion in the budget were earmarked for interest payments alone, and interest payments go up with rising inflation.

Lawyers and economists are already warning that additional debt-financed special funds would further increase the interest burden and further exacerbate the budgetary situation, which would ultimately restrict political leeway.

This article was originally written in German.

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It all kicks off on 11:11 am on the Thursday before Ash Wednesday, which is known as Weiberfastnacht (Women's Carnival Day). In Germany's Rhineland region — among other places — thousands of people wearing colorful costumes join several days of street celebrations.

In Cologne, the motto this year is "FasteLOVEnd – wenn Dräum widder blöhe" (Carnival — when dreams bloom again). The slogan has a bit the feel of the flower power era of the 60s and 70s, a time when people turned to a carefree "peace and love" attitude in reaction to global crises.

"In difficult times, carnival provides comfort, joy, community and also a little hope," explains Christoph Kuckelkorn, president of Cologne's Carnival festival committee. "We want to invite people to immerse themselves in carnival's dream world with us and let themselves drift a little — and perhaps will they want to make the real world a little better when they 'wake up.'"

Roman roots

People in Cologne have been taking that break from everyday life since as far back as 2,000 years ago — that's where one of the roots of today's carnival celebration lies.

At that time, Cologne was still called Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium. In the city founded by the Romans, people celebrated the Saturnalia festival in honor of the god Saturn, as they did everywhere in the Roman Empire.

The celebrations featured a lot of drinking and dancing, and for the amusement of all, the rich exchanged their noble garments with the simple tunics of their slaves and even served them. The slaves were also allowed to express harsh criticism of their masters, which would have earned them severe punishment the rest of the year. But during the festival, the world was turned on its head. 

There was even a parade with a ship on a cart; the Latin name was "Carrus navalis" — that sounds a lot like the word carnival. The people of Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensiums dressed up and accompanied the magnificently decorated cart with timpani, flutes and rattles.  

While the Saturnalia in the Roman Empire usually fell in December, the Germanic people celebrated a wild festival in the spring. They wore frightening masks and made a pandemonium of noise with drums and bells to drive away the evil spirits of winter. That's the second root of German carnival festivities — even today, this custom is alive in the southern German Fastnacht (the time before fasting).

How carnival became a religious festival

After Emperor Theodosius declared Christianity to be the state religion in 380, that was the end of the Saturnalia. The church also took a dim view of the pagan rites practiced by the German people.

But to avoid banning celebrations altogether, the church simply reframed the festival: the rituals were no longer aimed at driving out the evil spirits of winter, but the devil, the greatest enemy of Christianity.

The date it was observed became subject to the liturgical year. During the time between Ash Wednesday and Holy Saturday, the faithful were expected to eat less and pray more. But before the 40-day period of fasting before Easter began, people were allowed exuberant celebrations in which meat — "carne" in Latin — was bid farewell — "vale" in Latin. 

That helped carnival to become established as a Christian festival, especially in regions that were later largely Catholic, and not only in Europe.

The conquistadores from Spain and Portugal took their carnival traditions to the Caribbean and Central and South America, where they successfully took root.

Today, thousands of people flock to Rio de Janeiro each year to celebrate carnival with a huge samba-powered street festival. But that's a story for another time!

Back in the Old World, carnival may have been under church supervision, but priests and bishops still looked on the revels with suspicion. Yet they tolerated the carnival period being used to poke fun at church rituals, including the election of a "fool's pope" who rode into the church on a donkey.  

Satirical songs, masked balls and mischief galore

Along with the church, the tone-setting citizens of the city determined how carnival could be celebrated. That included journeymen reciting satirical songs in public squares and in front of inns, or jugglers and comedians parading through the streets. The upper classes, on the other hand, celebrated in their own way: Cologne's Elector Clemens August, for example, organized a lavish annual masked ball for church officials and the high society of the city.

When Napoleon's troops occupied the Rhineland, along with the party metropolis of Cologne, they were skeptical of the carnival celebrants (known as "fools") and banned the festival for a time. That was only partially successful, as the "fools" simply moved their celebrations from the streets to the inns.

In 1815, Prussians troops arrived in Cologne, and the city again came under German rule. The new occupying forces allowed carnival celebrations, which according to observers of the time, got increasingly out of hand: "Unrestrained debauchery and loutishness spread. Thus, under the mask of foolishness, much mischief was done, and many masks were immoral and tactless."

Carnival gets organized

Eventually, influential Cologne citizens no longer wanted to put up with this. They founded the "Festordnende Comité" (festival organizing committee) in 1823, and created the figure of the "Carnival Hero."

He was supposed to "guide the wretchedness of ordinary goings-on back into the desired channels on account of his noble character" and defeat all grievances — and start his triumphal procession through Cologne on Shrove Monday.  

The hero later became the "Carnival Prince." 

Since 1883, he's been joined by the Maiden of Cologne, symbolizing the free city of Cologne, which is not subject to any foreign power. She is played by a man, because the carnival societies were — and often still are — traditionally all-male.

The peasant, with his threshing flail, is regarded as a sign of Cologne's boldness. Together, this "triumvirate" rules over the city's fools for a whole season.

Elsewhere, prince-and-princess couples reign. But the celebratory ruling figures all have one thing in common: They open the carnival season on November 11 at 11:11, and the street celebrations also start at 11:11 on Weiberfastnacht.

The magic number: 11

The number 11 is the first repdigit, a number made up of repeating digits. Like many numbers, it has a lot of legends and traditions associated with it.

November 11 is also the Feast of Saint Martin, which in the Middle Ages was the beginning of a period of fasting until Christmas, before which, of course, people wanted to indulge. In the carnival tradition, 11 represents the equality of "fools": two ones next to each other, no number has a higher value.

And of course, the number has a Christian interpretation: 11 is one more than 10 fingers and one less than the 12 Apostles, neither human nor holy, and so carries a hint of sinfulness. 

Fool's privilege 

Can you commit a sin during "the fifth season," as the carnival season is also called? As with the ancient Romans, the "fools" agree on at least one thing: It's okay to go overboard and criticize the authorities. Whether in the carnival speeches, when someone gets on stage and gives politicians a piece of their mind; the floats in the Shrove Monday procession, which also take aim at grievances and world politics; or in the costume choice of each individual. Here, too, protest can be the order of the day if, for example, one dresses up as a warming globe or an exploitative financial shark.

For a few years now, questions have been raised about whether some costumes are racist and insulting to other cultures, for example through blackfacing. Bans are not planned, however, being considered impossible to enforce in cities where tens of thousands of people celebrate.

But the Cologne Festival Committee has made it clear: "Cologne Carnival stands for certain values. These include fool's license as well as tolerance, respect and diversity. So every fool should ask themselves whether their choice of costume could be offensive to other people. Then a good alternative can certainly be found, because there are no limits to the imagination at carnival."

This article was originally written in German and is an updated version of a piece first published on November 11, 2022.

Lahav Shapira was beaten on a Berlin street in early February 2024 in what is thought to have been an antisemitic attack. The Jewish student had expressed his opinion at his university on the Middle East conflict. The trial of the alleged perpetrator, a 23-year-old former fellow student of the victim, is due to begin at Tiergarten District Court on April 8.

It was among the most dramatic antisemitic incidents Germany has seen since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, after which the country invaded the Gaza Strip. Since the Israel-Hamas war began, Jewish students have reported a climate of fear at German universities, where they worry about intimidation and attacks.

On Thursday, the German Union of Jewish Students (JSUD) and the American Jewish Committee Berlin (AJC) presented a "Situation Report on Antisemitism at German Universities." Outgoing JSUD president Hanna Veiler, 27, spoke of a "tsunami of antisemitism" in the university environment, outlining a chronology of incidents including the brutal attack on Shapira, along with numerous university occupations and "so-called pro-Palestinian protest camps" where people have called for Israel to be wiped off the map.

Little research on the issue

The new report is important because a "really central challenge" for the JSUD has been that there is little research on antisemitism at universities, she said. A such, the 26-page report does not contain any newly collected figures. The authors used statistics from the Federal Association of Departments for Research and Information on Antisemitism (RIAS). According to the report, the number of antisemitic incidents involving universities rose from 16 in 2021 and 23 in 2022, to 151 in 2023.

Veiler said that the report is an important resource for Jewish students, who must deal with the issue whether they want to or not. "Jewish students have had to become experts on antisemitism at universities over the past 17 months," she said. For some, the fear of entering university buildings and feeling abandoned has impacted the course of their studies, and possibly their financial support as students.

AJC Berlin director Remko Leemhuis spoke of an "explosion" of antisemitic incidents at German universities since October 7, 2023, saying that many Jewish students had been avoiding campuses altogether for some time now.

The report makes clear that while there have been incidents, antisemitic statements or intimidation at universities nationwide, Berlin is a hotspot. The German capital has seen several university buildings occupied by protesters, often with anti-Israeli graffiti found inside afterwards.

The report called for a number of preventative policy changes in response, including the consistent prosecution of antisemitic crimes, compulsory training on modern forms of antisemitism at universities, and clearly named points of contact for Jewish students. In addition, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's controversial working definition of antisemitism should be included in university constitutions, it said.

University negligence?

According to Veiler, there is still a lack of backbone and support from university management. Taking action is "not a foregone conclusion," she said.

The attack on Lahav Shapira sparked another legal proceeding: A lawsuit by a student at the Free University of Berlin that has been pending at the Administrative Court since June 2024. Last summer, German broadcaster ZDF's investigative show "frontal" quoted from the indictment. It states that the university had "not taken adequate measures" to prevent or structurally eliminate the antisemitic discrimination against the plaintiff and other Jewish students, and that the FU had allowed "antisemitic language to materialize into actions." This would violate the requirements of Berlin's Higher Education Act.

Oral proceedings are expected to take place this summer and could attract great interest, a court spokeswoman confirmed to DW on Thursday. It is hoped the case will bring more clarity on the question of what university representatives have done in the fight against antisemitism.

This Sunday, the JSUD will elect its next president. Veiler will not be running again and plans to travel abroad for a while. "The main thing is that I need distance from Germany," she told German Jewish daily Jüdische Allgemeine, adding that over the past two years, she has become estranged from this country.

This article was originally written in German.

While you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter Berlin Briefing.

When valuable artworks plundered by the Nazi regime turn up in public and private collections in Germany, there are strict procedures to discover the provenance, or origin, of the work — and to alert any descendants of the original owner.

During the Nazi dictatorship that existed from 1933 to 1945, experts say that at least 200,000 works of art were taken from their mostly Jewish owners in Germany, whether through direct expropriation or forced sales. Many Jewish art collectors left Germany or were deported to death camps.

Now it has been revealed that the Bavarian State Painting Collections possess some 200 artworks looted by the Nazis — among them paintings by early 20th-century modernists like Germany's Max Beckmann and Pablo Picasso. Yet the Jewish owners have seemingly been kept in the dark.

The body that oversees collections in Bavarian museums and public art galleries appointed provenance experts to systematically research the origins of works marked red to symbolize their theft during the Nazi dictatorship.

This is according to German daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, which received leaked files of the provenance research list that the Bavarian arts body had not made public. It is alleged that the true number of Nazi-looted works held in the southern German state collections could be as high as 800.

A 'scandal' if Nazi-looted works 'withheld,'  says culture minister

German Culture Minister Claudia Roth told German news agency dpa that the leak could signal a "lack of transparency," and "possibly deliberate concealment."

"It would be a scandal if knowledge about Nazi-looted art was and is deliberately withheld here," she added.

Roth also feared that there might be a "prevention of fair and equitable solutions," referring to arestitution process that would see the return of plundered art.

Roth has often reaffirmed Germany's adherence to the Washington Principles, a 1998 agreement made by 44 countries deciding that state collections holding Nazi-confiscated art were to return it to the original owners. This process would be aided by museums and collections through the funding of thorough provenance research.

Jewish art dealer's heirs demand restitution

From a 900-page list of looted artworks created by Bavaria's state painting collection, the heirs of the Jewish art dealer Alfred Flechtheim have demanded the restitution of several works. The collector was a pioneering supporter of modernist masters, from Paul Klee to Henri Matisse, Picasso and Edvard Munch. 

His grand-nephew Michael Hulton and his stepmother Penny Hulton filed a complaint against the state of Bavaria back in 2016 about the works, with the long-running dispute resurfacing again almost a decade later.

According to the heirs' complaint, Flechtheim was forced to leave the paintings behind when he fled Berlin for Paris in May 1933 to escape Nazi persecution — four months after Adolf Hitler seized power.  Many paintings in the art dealer's collection were subsequently stolen, sold or hidden.

Flechtheim's heirs have claimed that some of the paintings now held in Bavaria were sold by Nazi art dealer Hildebrand Gurlitt, who was allowed to sell works deemed "degenerate" by the Nazis. Some 1,400 ill-gotten paintings were discovered in the Munich apartment of Gurlitt's reclusive son in 2012. The collection drew attention to the massive scale of Nazi art plunder.

Max Beckmann's painting "Chinese Fireworks" (1927) is among the works that Flechtheim's descendants want returned.

"Bavaria should have informed the surviving relatives of victims, reported the works to public databases and initiated restitution proceedings," said the heirs' lawyers in a statement. "In fact, it is clear that Bavaria did not want to adhere to these rules from the outset and shamelessly exploited the ignorance of many potential claimants."

But the Bavarian authorities reject the allegations, telling dpa that the leaked list of Nazi-looted art was out-of-date, and that ongoing provenance work is available online and thus transparent.  

A faster resolution to restitution claims

Meanwhile, Pablo Picasso's work "Madame Soler," also part of the Bavarian collection, has long been subject to a fractious restitution claim from the heirs of the Jewish art collector Paul von Mendelssohn-Bartholdy.

The dispute over "Madame Soler" is compounded because the parties disagree on whether the painting was sold under duress.

In 2023, Claudia Roth demanded that the Bavarian State Painting Collections agree to a review by an advisory commission that issues a recommendation on restitution disputes and enforces the Washington Principles.

Due to the slow processing of restitution claims, this process will be replaced with a court of arbitration which, according to Roth, will be able to provide a "faster and more independent" decision without concealment.  

On February 21, a chalk drawing by Adolph von Menzel, which was seized from the Breslau entrepreneur and art collector Leo Lewin, who was subjected to Nazi persecution, was returned to Lewin's heirs after it was found in a federal art collection.

"We want to return all works of art that came into the federal government's possession through similar ways," said Roth in a statement reacting to this latest restitution.  "We want just and fair solutions for the victims of Nazi Germany."

During the 2023/2024 winter semester, women made up 50.9% of all registered students, according to a study from the Center for Higher Education (CHE) released Thursday. This is an increase from 50.2% in the 2021/2022 winter semester, when women were in the majority for the first time.

The increase marks an historic development: just 125 years ago, Johanna Kappes made history as the first woman to study at a university in Germany. 

"More women than men are now qualified to study, for example, through the Abitur. New academic training occupations in the fields of nursing and health care are also playing a role in this development," said Cort-Denis Hachmeister, a CHE data analyst. The Abitur is the most common test German students need to pass to study at colleges and universities.

Gendered differences still prevalent in study paths

The CHE found that there were still notable differences between the subjects men and women study and that the differences often reflect stereotypical gender roles. For example, women make up 22.5% of computer science students, and 15.6% of electrical engineering and IT students.

On the other hand, women outnumber men in fields such as educational sciences (79.6%) and veterinary medicine (86%).

"A gender imbalance in certain subjects becomes socially problematic if it further exacerbates problems such as the gender pay gap or skills shortages in certain sectors," Hachmeister added.

But there are exceptions: 70% of German language and literature students are women. Business administration and economics are also the most popular study paths for both women as well as men.

Edited by: Sean Sinico

"Many survivors really worry about whether or not to have children because they are so afraid: What if it happens to my children too? What if I can't protect my children enough?," says Ava Anna Johannson, one of the survivors involved in the study commissioned by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in Germany.

Johannson is herself a survivor of child abuse. She grew up close to Bremen in northern Germany and was sexually abused by her grandfather and other family members from the age of three. After a difficult youth with spells in psychiatric clinics, Johannson finished school, went to university, married and had children.

However, the experience of giving birth to her first child caused the trauma of the past abuse to come flooding back. "It totally shocked me," she explains. "I had a really strong feeling of being treated like an object, that it was absolutely not about me and my own needs, that I was being talked about and not to."

Lack of awareness about trauma among medical staff

Johannson draws a connection between her treatment by medical staff whilst giving birth to the abuse she experienced as a child, including the same feeling of powerlessness. A medical procedure to enlarge the birth canal, called an episiotomy, was particularly traumatic.

"I was cut open to force the baby out without even being warned," she told DW. "I think there's a strong parallel there with the abuse … you're supposed to just be happy that the baby is healthy and gush over it."

The authors of the study surveyed over 600 survivors of childhood sexual abuse between the ages of 20 and 70, 84% of which were women. They write that violence and disrespect during childbirth is a major social, health and women's policy issue. Targeted trauma-sensitive training and the establishment of comprehensive professional support services are all needed to tackle the problem.

"There's an unbelievable lack of sensitivity about these issues when giving birth and that's a general problem, not just for women who have been sexually abused, but it particularly impacts them," says sociologist Barbara Kavemann, one of the authors of the study.

More support networks needed for survivors

The study makes a number of recommendations for policymakers and care professionals, such as midwives, in the hope that survivors can be better supported with family planning and their everyday life as a parent. This includes specialized support for children in kindergartens and in schools.

"Traumatic experiences can be passed on to the next generation, but it is not inevitable. The danger is not that parents have experienced violence, the danger is that they do not get enough support and that they are left alone," says Kavemann.

Another issue raised by participants in the study, especially men, was the fear that they could become perpetrators — and this not only holds them back from having children but also from seeking much needed support. "They are afraid to ask for support from counseling, youth welfare and other agencies that they will be stigmatized as victims of violence and that they will be told they cannot take care of their children," Kavemann explains.

The majority of sexual abuse against children occurs within the family and almost a quarter of the parents surveyed reported the difficulty of avoiding their children having contact with the perpetrator. One of the recommendations is for better support networks to be put in place for those who have lost their family support network either because they have been ostracized or have actively distanced themselves because their family does not want to distance itself from the perpetrator.

"Self-help groups also play a very important role," explains Kavemann, adding that staff at family-planning and counseling centers know "virtually nothing" about the topic.

It is also important for parents to explain to children when they reach the appropriate age about what happened in the past and to be able to answer questions, which helps to lift the burden from both parents and children, according to Kavemann. "Children can cope with these things so long as they know and can see that they and their parents have the right to support, and above all, that they know that it is not their fault. That's really important," she says.

Johansson agrees that a lot changed for her when she was finally able to talk to her children about what had happened to her as a child. "It started when I told them that I was feeling good, that there was a reason for that and that I was looking for support. That was always the most important for me, that my children don't have to worry about me, that they don't feel guilty and that I get help," she says.

Memorial proposed in recognition of abuse survivors

Established in 2016 by the Lower House of Parliament, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse has been investigating the extent, nature and consequences of sexual violence against children and young people in the Federal Republic of Germany and the GDR. The commission conducts interviews and publishes reports with recommendations for future prevention and for how to give survivors appropriate recognition.

Precise information about how widespread child sexual abuse in Germany is unavailable because of insufficient data — an issue the World Health Organization has asked the country to rectify in order to bring the issue more out into the open. The latest statistics from the Federal Crime Agency estimate that 54 children and adolescents a day became victims of sexual abuse in Germany.

Kavemann says that a big problem is the lack attention paid to child sexual abuse that occurs within the families in comparison to cases that occur within institutions like the Catholic Church.

One of the ideas discussed in the report is to create a memorial site in recognition for those affected by child sexual abuse who either decide not to have children as result of their experiences or who are unable to because of the physical harm caused by their abusers.

It is an idea that Johannson, who is still dealing the consequences of the abuse perpetrated against her, also welcomes. "I had a difficult start in life, but I made the best out of it and I think I did a good job raising my kids," she says. "There's just no where for me to go to get some kind of official recognition for what happened to me or get any kind of compensation. That's a bitter pill to swallow."

While you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter Berlin Briefing.

Bad health advice and fraudulent cures are as old as time. Early Christians were instructed to ingest devotional images of saints to heal ailments and pain, while quacks in the 18th century sold so-called "snake oil" as a cure-all for health problems.

In the age of social media, medical misinformation has spread far quicker than any travelling charlatan or priest could ever achieve. With millions of followers at the tap of a finger, influencers seemingly wield significant power when it comes to health and medical advice.

A new study, published in the journal JAMA Network Open, has found around 85% of social media posts about medical tests provide misleading or potentially harmful false medical advice that failed to mention important harms such as overdiagnosis or overuse. 

"These data demonstrate a need for stronger regulation of misleading medical information on social media," the authors wrote. 

Medical misinformation is rife on social media

The researchers say social media posts are a leading contributor to overdiagnosis and increasing demand for unnecessary treatments. These are recognized as major health threats. 

Overdiagnosis diverts healthcare resources away from tackling diseases which are underdiagnosed and undertreated, the researchers say. Treatment overuse can lead to side effects like medication-induced headaches.

The researchers analyzed 982 social media posts from Instagram and TikTok influencers with around 200 million followers to assess their accuracy and potential impact on viewers. Posts discussing five specific medical tests such as full-body MRI scans and testosterone-level checks were the focus. 

Of these, only 15% mentioned potential harm associated with the medical tests.

Financial incentives bias medical advice on social media

Almost all influencers in the sample lacked the medical expertise to provide accurate information. Only 6% of posts included some form of medical evidence. 

Instead, influencers tended to rely on anecdotal evidence or cherry-picked data to promote tests that may not be necessary or even beneficial. 

For example, multi-cancer early detection tests and gut microbiome tests are heavily promoted on social media. These tests are often marketed as essential for maintaining good health, but the scientific evidence supporting their widespread use is limited.

"Clearly, this new evidence of persuasive and misleading information across almost 1,000 posts demands responses to help curtail potential overdiagnosis and overuse," the authors wrote.

The study also found over two-thirds of the influencers had financial incentives to promote the test they were posting about. 

This financial incentive can lead to biased information, where the benefits of the tests are exaggerated, and the risks are downplayed.

How to protect yourself online

Finding reliable and science-based health advice online can be difficult, but research points to several things anyone can do to protect against health misinformation:

• Verify the Source: Always check the credentials of the person providing medical advice. Influencers may not have the necessary medical background to offer reliable information.
• Protect yourself against misleading information: Think critically about the content you are viewing. Ask yourself if the informer is referring to scientific evidence from reputable sources.
• Fact-check information: Use reliable sources to fact-check the information shared by influencers. Websites like the NHS, the Mayo Clinic, and the WHO provide accurate and up-to-date information.
• Think before you share: Before you pass something along, consider whether it may be untrue or could cause harm. Checking the accuracy of information with a reputable source can cut down on sharing falsehoods.
• Sharpen your media literacy skills: Playing science-backed games, including the Spot the Troll and Bad News, can reduce your chances of believing false health information.

Edited by: Matthew Ward Agius

Source

Social Media Posts About Medical Tests With Potential for Overdiagnosis 

Other than Jude Bellingham, there are perhaps no two more exciting attacking midfielders in football at the moment than Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala. Both are German. Both are younger than 22. Both are valued at €140 million ($150) and both are seen as potential Ballon d'Or winners. Now, the two face each other in Europe's premier club competition. Their meeting is a uniquely special moment for German football.

Bayern dominated the Bundesliga champions in the first leg of their round-of-16 clash, with an easy 3-0 win on Wednesday – with Musiala's goal bookended by two from Harry Kane. This leaves Wirtz and Co. with an uphill climb in next Tuesday's second leg at home in Leverkusen.

Historic meeting

It's hard to put the magnitude of what Wirtz facing Musiala in the Champions League knockouts means in modern German football history. When Mesut Özil played Marco Reus in the 2013 Champions League semifinals, it was a big deal but their match-up was not the headline of the tie. There was excitement when Leroy Sane and Kai Havertz emerged in 2018, but not on the same level. In fact, this is the first time since the emergence of Mario Götze in 2009, that this level of excitement and disbelief has existed around the ability of a German footballer. And, unlike German trains these days, two have come along at once.

Great cinema awaits

The European meeting has got all of German football talking. Vincent Kompany has compared Musiala to Ronaldinho. Bayern legend Karl-Heinz Rummenigge recently said that Wirtz was Germany's best player, perhaps in an attempt to boost the club's chances of signing the Leverkusen player sooner rather than later. Former Germany midfielder Dietmar Hamann recently said: "Wirtz makes every one of his teammates better", adding that he doesn't believe Musiala does the same. Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann quipped: "I don't have to decide, I can start both", while head of the German FA (DFB) Bernd Neuendorf said of the Champions League tie: "It will be great cinema."

Indeed, that is the draw of Musiala and Wirtz – they are two of the most watchable players in football at the moment. They are the reason so many want to go to the stadium. Whenever they get on the ball, the crowd breathes in a little deeper, knowing that something special might be about to happen. They are game-changers, the kind of players that young fans want to watch and then go home and play as on a video game. Jamal Musiala has more Instagram followers than his Champions League opponents in the round of 16, while Wirtz has more than four other teams in the knockouts. They simply are the faces of this German generation.

Wirtz is the player capable of delivering something exceptional at any time – see him scoring the fastest-ever Germany goal after just eight seconds (against France last year). Musiala the one capable of wriggling out of impossible spaces with the ball at his feet and providing more of an aerial threat than first appears. In all competitions, Musiala is the better goal scorer but Wirtz the better provider. Both are capable of delivering in the big moment too. Jamal Musiala's goal snatched the Bundesliga title away from Borussia Dortmund two years ago. Last season, Florian Wirtz's first career hat trick secured Leverkusen's first Bundesliga title. For Germany, the pair lit up the Euro 2024 opening game against Scotland, sparking the beginning of an amusing nickname for the pair – "Wusiala".

Such is the quality of the two players, that their futures will fill social media platforms and sports websites for years to come. Wirtz appears destined for the biggest of clubs, while Musiala, for now at least, will stay in Munich – after recently signing a huge contract until 2030.

The present though, offers a fantastic chance for football lovers to watch these two play and for one to edge ahead in a contest that will continue for years to come. After the first leg, the slight advantage goes to Musiala.

This article was originally published on March 5, 2025. It was updated on March 6, 2025 to reflect the result of the first leg. 

Edited by: Chuck Penfold

A debut at 16, multiple Bundesliga titles, named Best Young Player at a World Cup and now captain of Germany with more than 50 caps at just 25 –at first glance Giulia Gwinn appears to have enjoyed the smoothest of footballing ascendencies.

But an anterior cruciate ligament injury which ruled her out of World Cup 2023 was her second such injury in less than a decade as a pro. Rehabilitation was long and tough both times. But the strength shown in her recovery was equally evident in her debut as permanent skipper, as she drove her team to a  4-1  Nations League win over Austria, adding an assist.

"Giulia is an exemplary player who demonstrates great mentality and personality both on and off the pitch," said her national team coach Christian Wück, for whom the game was a first home win, ahead of the match.

"The whole coaching staff has gained incredible faith in Giulia in a very short space of time. I therefore have no doubt in my mind that she will be a fantastic captain."

Outspoken when required

While her resilience and ability as a marauding fullback are not in doubt, Gwinn's character has come increasingly to the fore in a changing national team. Gwinn publicly defended her Bayern Munich teammate  goalkeeper Ena Mahmutovic, after her error contributed to a loss to Italy in December, but she's also unafraid to crack the whip when she deems it necessary.

"I think you sometimes have to touch on sore points," she told the club's website last year. "I've grown into a role in which I can talk about uncomfortable things."

This much was clear when she claimed her side, and Gwinn herself, played "scaredy-cat football" in a Nations League semifinal loss to France in 2024.

Germany were again a little timid in the first half against neighbors Austria and are yet to fully adjust to life after former captain Alexandra Popp, goalkeeper Merle Frohms and attacking veteran Svenja Huth. With the Euros in Switzerland set for July, time is running short for the new generation to gel.

"I think it helps us as a team when younger players take on responsibility – off the pitch but in matches in particular," Gwinn said.

"That shouldn't be limited to one or two players. I also show that in the national team with my (taking of) penalties: I lead the way, I don't hide. Those who duck away don't achieve anything."

Injuries led to improvement

Despite her relative youth, Gwinn has been through a lot in footballing terms. Named the best youngster at World Cup 2019 and with a move to Bayern from Freiburg already sealed, she looked to be one of the rising stars of the women's game. But the first of those ACL injuries came along soon after.

She returned to be named in the team of the tournament as Germany made the final of Euro 2022 in England, losing to the hosts – only to suffer the same injury a few months later.

"At first you feel the same shock and somehow also a kind of panic when you are lying on the ground with a serious injury," she told Forbes in 2023. "That doesn't change the second time around. But through experience, a lot of what happens then can simply be better understood."

Finding the extra few percent

But Gwinn, who grew up in the south of Germany and started her career with Freiburg, made the most of her time away from the pitch.

"Of course, such a serious injury changes you because – as stupid as it may sound – it makes you grow. You have time to work much more in the physical and mental area. You can focus on issues that you don't have time for in your everyday football life," she told Bayern's website.

Those changes have encompassed using strobe glasses, which flash light on and off, to sharpen her perception, and an increased focus on mental health and diet.

"These are all things that can give you a few extra percent in your performance – and every percentage point counts," Germany's player of the year in 2024 said.

Work still to do

For all that the win over Austria, which came after falling behind early, will boost confidence for the emerging new core, it was the introduction of the two oldest players that turned the game.

"We made a lot of easy mistakes and lost all the duels. I wasn't happy at all, and neither were the girls. Our substitutions worked this time, and thank God all the measures we took were good for the team – and that was the key today," said Wück of the impact of 30-year-old midfielders Sara Däbritz and Linda Dallmann.

There are just a handful of games to find the right blend before a Euros group that incudes Poland, Denmark and Sweden. Despite her injury history, you get the sense Gwinn will want to do much more than just ensure she stays healthy this time.

Edited by: Chuck Penfold

Why does the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) exist?

WADA was established in February 1999 at a World Anti-Doping Conference in Lausanne, Switzerland. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) initiative was backed by around 140 countries. It was triggered by a major doping scandal at the 1998 Tour de France involving the French cycling team Festina. The scandal began after large quantities of banned substances were seized – even though at that point, no Festina rider had tested positive.

At the conference in Lausanne, the participants agreed to establish an international anti-doping agency to standardize and coordinate the fight against doping. It was to be fully operational by the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. On November 10, 1999, WADA was officially established at an anti-doping conference in Washington.

What does WADA do?

WADA is responsible for ensuring that the World Anti-Doping Code is adhered to and, if necessary, updated in response to new developments. The code is the internationally applicable set of rules in the fight against doping for all sports. The first version was adopted in 2003 – and updated in 2007, 2009, 2015 and 2021.

Among other things, it sets out the standards for how doping tests should be carried out. The World Anti-Doping Code also states that top athletes must frequently report their whereabouts so that they can be tested anywhere and at any time. National anti-doping agencies are responsible for implementing the provisions of the code in their respective countries.

WADA updates the list of banned substances on a yearly basis, while accrediting the doping-control laboratories in which samples may be analyzed. There are currently 30 WADA-accredited testing laboratories.

How is WADA financed?

WADA is a foundation. Half of its budget – around $53 million (€50.6 million) in 2025 – is funded by the IOC. The other half is provided by the more than 190 countries that have signed on to the Anti-Doping Code. The contribution shares are staggered according to continent. The distribution formula was agreed in 2003 at a world conference against doping in Copenhagen.

Europe accounts for the largest share with 47.5%, followed by North, Central and South America with 29% and Asia with 20.5%. The countries from Oceania (2.5%) and Africa (0.5%) contribute the least.

In the 2025 WADA budget, the highest national contributions are made by the USA (around $3.8 million), Canada ($1.9 million), Japan ($1.5 million) and European countries Germany, France, Italy and the UK, plus Russia ($1.4 million each). The highest contributors in Africa are Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa (just under $6000 each).

Why is the WADA headquarters located in Montreal?

After it was founded in 1999, WADA was initially based in Lausanne, Switzerland, where the IOC is also based. In 2000, an economic development agency that promotes investment in the greater Montreal area launched a campaign to bring the WADA headquarters to the Canadian city. WADA moved there in 2002.

Lausanne became the WADA regional office for Europe. There are others in Cape Town, Tokyo and Montevideo.

How many people does WADA employ?

According to its own figures, WADA employed 187 people from 52 countries at its headquarters in Montreal and in its regional offices at the end of 2023. Former Polish Minister of Sport and Tourism Witold Banka has been at the helm of the agency since 2020. Yang Yang, the 2002 Chinese gold medal winning speed skater, is the vice president.

What kind of reputation does WADA have?

Ten years ago, when a scandal surrounding systematic doping in Russian sport broke, WADA was still regarded as an undisputed authority, but its image has been tarnished by the affair. Critics accuse WADA, under Banka and Yang, of increasingly failing to follow its own principles.

Before the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, a team of reporters from German public broadcaster ARD uncovered a scandal in Chinese swimming. It found that 23 Chinese athletes, including world and Olympic champions, had tested positive for a banned substance in 2021, but had not even been suspended. Travis Tygart, head of the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), then accused WADA of a cover up – an allegation WADA responded to by suing the American official. Former US President Joe Biden's administration then suspended Washington's contribution to WADA's budget. WADA has since withdrawn its complaint against Tygart.

WADA has also faced criticism for accepting the explanations of the accused for alleged offences in the world of tennis. In the case of men's World No. 1 Jannik Sinner, WADA initially took the case to the International Court of Justice but later reached an agreement with the Italian that saw him facing a suspension of just three months. In the case of women's world No. 2 Iga Swiatek of Poland, WADA waived its right to appeal against the one-month doping ban imposed by the International Tennis Integrity Agency.

This article was originally published in German. 

Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich are to face Bayer Leverkusen in the round of 16 of this year's Champions League. Germany's other team in Friday's draw, struggling Borussia Dortmund , who are also last year's Champions League finalists, are to face French Ligue 1 outfit Lille.

Bayern Munich, who are looking for their first Champions League title since 2020, are eight points clear of Leverkusen in the Bundesliga and the two teams played out a scoreless draw last weekend. Xabi Alonso's Leverkusen broke Bayern's lock on the Bundesliga title last season, winning the club's first league title.

The draw also produced a mouth-watering matchup in Spain, where defending champions Real Madrid were paired with cross-town rivals Atletico Madrid.

The first leg matches in the round of 16 are to be played on March 4 and 5, with the return legs scheduled for the following week, March 11 and 12.

Munich's Allianz Arena will host the final on May 31.

Edited by: Rob Mudge

When asked about the start of his newest project, the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, Hamburg entrepreneur Jan Henric Buettner only has one word: Mega!

Buettner has been making a name for himself as a sponsor and investor in the chess scene for a good year now. He has invited the best chess players in the world to his luxury hotel complex on the Baltic Sea for a week. Surrounded by chess influencers from all over the world, 10 professional chess players have been competing against each other. The next few months will see similarly glamorous events in places like Paris and New York.

Chess for the masses?

"We are producing a chess product for non-chess players," Buettner says.

Armed with €20 million ($21 million) in venture capital, Buettner is aiming to give chess a makeover for the masses. The figurehead of the event is former world champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway, but current champion Dommaraju Gukesh of India will also be there, as well as Germany's No. 1 player, Vincent Keymer. The German even managed the feat of knocking superstar Carlsen out of the tournament. Not in traditional chess, but in "freestyle," a variant in which the opening is drawn by lot before each game.

However, the aspects of the game are not the real focus of the event.

"We want to reach a whole new target group. People aren't interested in all the rules," Buettner says.

But the rules have been the subject of much controversy in recent weeks. This is because the world chess federation (FIDE) considers itself responsible for the rules of chess.

"We are concerned with the integrity of the chess world," FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich told DW. "We made clear that we want to keep the world championship title as something that is governed by the international chess federation."

Negotiations via WhatsApp

The bone of contention: Buettner's intention to crown a freestyle world champion at the end of his tournament series. Since the start of the year, the German millionaire had been negotiating with Dvorkovich, a former deputy prime minister of Russia and FIDE's president since 2018. Contract and press texts were exchanged, as were WhatsApp messages. In the end, no agreement was reached.

"There was simply a lack of trust," sad Dvorkovich.

"A waste of time! I didn't even speak to the president, I spoke to the janitor," was the response from the tournament side.

For players like Vincent Keymer, the dispute between "Freestyle" and FIDE poses a dilemma. For the top players, the new format is interesting and a good source of income. But Keymer and the others also want to continue playing for the world title in classical chess.

"Of course, that would have been a big issue for me if I had to choose between the FIDE tournaments and the freestyle competitions," Keymer told DW at the beginning of the year.

Arkady Dvorkovich has confirmed that this issue is off the table for 2025.

"I hope this topic doesn't come up again in the course of the year 2025 or 2026 and we can resolve it through dialog," he said.

Buettner hasn't ruled out further talks but warned: "They won't get such a good deal again."

It is quite possible that the issue could soon be a matter for the courts to decide.

Random openings the future of chess?

One thing is certain; the dispute over the World Cup rights has really brought the previously little-played chess variant "Fischer Random" or freestyle into the spotlight. The late former world champion Bobby Fischer of the United States is regarded as the inventor of freestyle chess. As the opening positioning of the pieces are drawn at the start, the preparations for the opening that are so important in regular chess are meaningless. The drawn positions take some getting used to, even for professionals:

"Even I find it difficult to understand," says Josefine Heinemann.

The German national team player doesn't believe that this form of chess will attract an audience of millions.

"If I hardly understand anything, then most spectators will understand even less," she said.

She also noted that women had been left out entirely and only a few of the top men's players were involved.

This doesn't seem to bother Buettner, who believes that as in Formula 1 motor racing, the audience is more interested in the show than anything else.

"We don't do anything for the chess. We concentrate on what the mass market wants," he said.

Buettner's main vehicle for presenting his series is the Internet, and he said the number of viewers of his streamed content has more than doubled compared to last year's premiere event. However, he is not yet revealing any details:

"We are at the very beginning and want to see how it develops. We don't want to release any figures at the moment."

The aim, however, is for the undertaking to eventually be worth "billions."

Missed opportunity?

"It seems challenging to me to make chess more popular overall with freestyle of all things," the head of the Berlin Chess Association and eSports expert Paul Meyer-Dunker told DW. 

Like Heinemann, he too thinks that the random openings represent an added hurdle for non-chess players.

Nevertheless, Meyer-Dunker believes that the World Chess Federation has missed a great opportunity.

"FIDE does have a point, in the sense that a World Championship should not be decoupled like a private tournament," Meyer-Dunker conceded.

"Unfortunately, the chess world and its officials are too often fixated on how things were and how they should remain," he added, noting that some change might do the world of of chess good. 

"Freestyle could be such a change that comes from outside."

This article was originally published in German. 

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