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Politics180 outlets ran this3 min read

Friedrich Merz campaigns for Berlin CDU with Stefan Evers

The German Chancellor addressed party members at a closed-door event.

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Published Updated
Stefan Evers, Spitzenkandidat der Berliner CDU.

What this story says

  • German Chancellor Friedrich Merz attended a campaign event for the Berlin CDU.
  • Merz spoke to approximately 150 party members at the CDU headquarters.
  • The event was held behind closed doors, with Merz focusing on federal politics and praising candidate Stefan Evers.
  • Merz also addressed anti-Semitism and xenophobia at the event.

Who covered it

Left 22%(16)Centre 38%(27)Right 40%(29)

Percentages are shares of the 72 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 108 of the 180 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

42/100

Craft

57/100

Hype

41/100

180 sources · methodology

Missing from the left

Only 16 of the 72 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.

A reader who follows the left would not have seen this. We report the absence rather than explain it: outlets choose what to cover for many reasons, and we have no evidence about which one applies here.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz campaigned for the Berlin CDU on Thursday, appearing alongside candidate Stefan Evers. The event, held at the CDU headquarters, was attended by approximately 150 party members and took place behind closed doors. Merz addressed federal politics and offered praise for Evers.

Disagreement on Merz's specific remarks

While several reports state Merz spoke about federal politics and praised Stefan Evers, the specific content of his remarks varies. Der Tagesspiegel notes Merz spoke about federal politics and praised Evers. Reports from Hamburger Abendblatt, Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, Westfalenpost, nrz.de, Thüringer Allgemeine, Ostthüringer Zeitung, tlz.de, ikz-online.de, and braunschweiger-zeitung.de state Merz spoke primarily about federal politics and did not hold back praise for Evers. Berliner Morgenpost reports Merz spoke in a closed session above all about federal politics but did not save praise for the candidate. Welt reports Merz praised the Federal Government's progress in migration and condemned growing anti-Semitism, calling it the most perfidious form of xenophobia. Hola News reports Merz attacked anti-Semitism and xenophobia.

What the coverage left out

None of the left-rated digests mention the specific number of party members addressed by Merz. None of the centre-rated digests mention Merz condemning anti-Semitism or xenophobia. None of the right-rated digests mention Merz campaigning with Senator Ute Bonde.

Tags:#FriedrichMerz#StefanEvers#CDU#BerlinElection#FederalPolitics

Coverage settled. We checked this 11 times and stopped on 23 Sept 2026, 02:30. The figures above are what it finished at.

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

16 rated outlets

  • Left-rated outlets reported on Friedrich Merz's campaign activities in Berlin, noting he was operating within a controlled environment. Several reports highlighted that CDU state prime ministers issued statements in support of Merz, opposing discussions about his political future.
  • A significant focus across these reports was a poll indicating low public approval for Merz. Multiple outlets stated that 78% of Germans do not consider him the right person for the chancellorship, with one report adding that only 14% believe he is worthy of the post.
  • Some left-rated reports also mentioned Merz planning a party meeting after state elections to seek continued support. One digest noted that the CDU was considering drastic measures, such as dissolving the government coalition, as a last resort.

Centre

27 rated outlets

  • Centre-rated reports from Der Tagesspiegel, Westfalenpost, and Hola News focused on Merz's appearance at the campaign event. Der Tagesspiegel's full report described Merz campaigning with candidate Stefan Evers and Senator Ute Bonde, noting Merz's focus on federal politics and praise for Evers. Westfalenpost and other unrated digests stated Merz spoke primarily about federal politics and praised Evers. Hola News reported Merz attacked anti-Semitism and xenophobia at the event.

Right

29 rated outlets

  • Right-rated reports from n-tv, Frankfurter Allgemeine, BNR Nieuwsradio, dagelijksestandaard.nl, Reformatorisch Dagblad, Berliner Morgenpost, and Welt highlighted Merz's campaign efforts for the Berlin CDU. Several digests, including those from BNR Nieuwsradio, dagelijksestandaard.nl, and Reformatorisch Dagblad, specified that Merz campaigned behind closed doors, addressing approximately 150 party members at CDU headquarters. Frankfurter Allgemeine noted Merz appeared before the Berlin election, and it became clear which interests their top candidate pursues at the federal level. Berliner Morgenpost and Welt reported Merz praised Evers and spoke about federal politics. Welt also reported Merz condemned anti-Semitism as the most perfidious form of xenophobia.

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover Friedrich Merz campaigns for Berlin CDU with Stefan Evers?
Of the 72 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 22% are rated left, 38% are rated centre, 40% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 180. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
Is Friedrich Merz campaigns for Berlin CDU with Stefan Evers left or right?
Neither side dominates it. Of the 72 rated outlets on this story, 22% are rated left, 38% are rated centre, 40% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
Is the coverage of Friedrich Merz campaigns for Berlin CDU with Stefan Evers biased?
Friedrich Merz campaigns for Berlin CDU with Stefan Evers is one event reported by 180 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
Which side is not reporting Friedrich Merz campaigns for Berlin CDU with Stefan Evers?
When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
Which outlets covered Friedrich Merz campaigns for Berlin CDU with Stefan Evers?
180 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
Who is Friedrich Merz campaigning for in Berlin?
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is campaigning for the Berlin CDU, the Christian Democratic Union party. He appeared alongside the party's top candidate, Stefan Evers, at a campaign event.
Where did the campaign event take place?
The campaign event where German Chancellor Friedrich Merz spoke took place at the headquarters of the CDU in Berlin. The event was held behind closed doors.
What did Friedrich Merz speak about?
Friedrich Merz spoke about federal politics at the campaign event. He also praised the candidate Stefan Evers. Some reports indicate he also addressed anti-Semitism and xenophobia.

Read it at the source

198 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

18
Show 10 more

Centre

30
Show 22 more

Right

33
Show 25 more

Not rated

117
Show 109 more

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

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