License revocation for Dutch broadcaster: Hitler relativization is the last straw

The license of the public broadcaster Ongehoord Nederland (ON) is to be revoked. Rianne Letschert, Minister of Education, Culture and Science, announced this on Tuesday afternoon. Letchert, who belongs to Prime Minister Rob Jetten's liberal Democrats66 (D66), said that there were clear rules for broadcasters that made programs with taxpayer money. “If you don’t stick to these consistently, at some point the amount will be full.”

The bone of contention is an excerpt from a program called “Let’s Twist Again,” which was broadcast at the end of July on the station, which is far on the right-wing spectrum. The program featured a clip of Adolf Hitler in which he talks about an “uprooted international clique that incites peoples against each other.” At this point a person in the audience shouted, “Jews.” The occasion was a discussion about Hitler's fight against globalism - a term that has been a red flag for years in circles that watch and support Ongehoord Nederland.

The popular presenter Raisa Blommestijn and editor-in-chief Joost Niemöller should later take a stand on the statement: “The cosmopolitan elite is necessarily hostile to the simple, rooted people.” Both agreed. Niemöller also summed up that Hitler said certain things “simply very well.” Both Niemöller and Blommestijn emphasized that they did not share his entire ideas.

The station, founded in 2022, sees it as its task to represent the part of the population that does not feel represented on public broadcasting and therefore does not feel heard in the social debate. The name is also a reference to a standard argument in the country's right-wing populist discourse, according to which supposedly unpopular perspectives on migration or climate change are not given a voice by a left-liberal or "woken" uniform opinion and therefore remain "unheard".

In this respect, ON is both a speaker and an actor in the culture war and a podium for debates about population exchange, foreign infiltration and identity. Terms like blanken, an old word for white people that comes from the South African apartheid period, are of course used there. Based on the common belief that the supposedly globalist-minded and politically correct government should not shut you up. Moderator Blommestijn compared the license revocation that has become apparent in the past few days to a totalitarian state like North Korea.

The minister's decision is historic, as the license of a public broadcaster has never been revoked before. In recent years, the responsible ombudswoman has repeatedly received complaints against the station for racism and discrimination. Minister Letschert said on Tuesday that it was “not an easy decision”, but she could not avoid the conclusion that Ongehoord Nederland was no longer complying with the legal regulations.

The media commissioner, responsible for compliance with media legislation, also spoke out in favor of a license revocation procedure following the relativization of Hitler. Letschert has now informed Parliament that it has started. The broadcaster can defend itself in these proceedings. Director Peter Vlemmix said they would see how to proceed against the decision. As long as the procedure is ongoing, ON can continue to send.