Germany's mood sinks as flood of negative news fuels pessimism, researcher says

Future researcher Horst Opaschowski, who has tracked German public sentiment for decades, says the constant flow of crisis‑related news since the Covid pandemic has created a pervasive pessimistic mood across the country. Surveys conducted with the Ipsos Institute between 2020 and 2024 show that roughly three‑quarters of respondents fear the future, attributing the anxiety to the media’s emphasis on negative and fabricated stories.

Opaschowski notes that “continuous alarm reports act like an accelerant,” and that the public wants balanced coverage, including positive news and practical solutions from politics and the press. The same polls reveal regional differences: only 74 % of Bavarians say fake news worry them, compared with 90 % in North Rhine‑Westphalia. In May 2024, 76 % of Germans agreed that fake news increase doubt about online information, and 84 % said they felt unsettled by such misinformation.