Politicians show solidarity Why is Meret Schneider getting so much hate right now?
Meret Schneider is currently being flooded with hate comments on social media. The reason for this: In an interview, she called for social media to be controlled.
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- Green National Councillor Meret Schneider is receiving hate online after she called for stricter controls on social media.
- Even international media picked up the story.
- Now politicians are showing solidarity with her.
Green National Councillor Meret Schneider (32) is currently receiving a lot of hate online. But why is that?
In an interview with theSonntagszeitungnewspaper, Schneider called for social media such as X, TikTok and Facebook to be more strictly controlled - and even blocked in exceptional situations. The article was illustrated with a portrait of tech giant Elon Musk and Meret Schneider.
And it is precisely this statement that has not gone down well with some people. Well over 1000 posts have reached her on social media since Sunday. Most of the comments are in English. The senders are mainly Americans - and Trump and Elon Musk supporters.
Schneider sees Köppel as the trigger
But how did this come about? Schneider assumes that a post by Roger Köppel was the trigger, as she told the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper. The former SVP National Councillor and editor of "Weltwoche" had uploaded a screenshot of the article to X, captioned it: "Meret Schneider: 'If necessary, X or Tiktok should be blocked'" and added the words "Super-Democrat Meret Schneider" underneath. The post was then shared several times. The hate comments increased.
International media also picked up on the story. A German portal reported on it, as did the American and Russian media, as Schneider herself reported on X. Even the "Hindustan Times" has written an article about it.
At least she doesn't understand a single hate comment there, the Zurich-based journalist says.
On Sunday evening, it all started with anonymous phone calls, as the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper writes. She received death threats. Since Monday, she has been receiving non-stop hate comments on social media.
"WeStandToMeret"
Some X users are now also showing solidarity with Schneider. Under the hashtag "WirStehenZuMeret" (WeStandToMeret), the first have declared their support for Schneider's demands and taken a stand against hate speech and misinformation. These include members of parliament.
Center-President Gerhard Pfister (62) writes: "Much enemy, much honor". This means that those who are criticized from several sides are taken seriously by their opponents.
The two centrist National Councillors Nicole Baradun (56) and Maya Bally (63) also commented on the wave of hatred. Bally writes: "She has merely expressed her opinion, but has received no counter-argument, only insults and threats of the worst kind."
The EU has had a regulatory law for social media since 2022: the Digital Services Act (DSA). Switzerland should also have drafted a similar law this year. However, SVP Federal Councillor Albert Rösti has already postponed the consultation process several times.
