GermanyOwnership & classification
Founded: 1947
Ownership
Der Spiegel is published by the SPIEGEL-Verlag Rudolf Augstein GmbH & Co. KG, part of the privately held Spiegel-Gruppe. Control is unusually decentralised: the employee partnership Spiegel-Mitarbeiter KG (Beteiligungsgesellschaft der SPIEGEL-Mitarbeiter) holds 50.5%, a stake founder Rudolf Augstein gifted to staff in 1974 and topped up by half a percent in his will. The heirs of founder Rudolf Augstein hold roughly 24% and the publishing house Gruner + Jahr (RTL Group/Bertelsmann sphere) holds about 25.5%. The Rudolf Augstein Stiftung is a separate charitable foundation, not the controlling owner.
Funding
Funded commercially through magazine and digital subscriptions, newsstand sales and advertising; Spiegel-Mitarbeiter KG and thus the staff are entitled to half of the group's profits. No state or party money.
Affiliation & stance
Editorially independent and centre-left/liberal in stance, with no party, church or state control. Because a majority is held by its own employees and the founding family rather than any political or government interest, it is INDEPENDENT.
Editorial lean
- Our estimate
- Lean Left
- Measured from coverage
- Centerbased on 313
73/100
Factual
72/100
Objective
675
Articles
675
reports
Top stories
Most covered right now
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Recent coverage
An American gets the maximum amount of recovery time at Wimbledon.
The article discusses the scheduling of the first-round doubles match at Wimbledon involving American tennis player Serena Williams and her sister Venus Williams against the Argentine-Colombian pair Solana Sierra and Camila Osorio. The match was initially scheduled for Thursday and Friday but has been postponed due to Serena's injury during her singles match. Tournament organizer Andy Murray (likely a misstatement, as Andy Murray is a British player, and the correct name might be someone like Ashley Barker or another official) stated they are giving Serena as much time as possible to recover. They ruled out postponing the match to later dates unless necessary for safety or tournament flow. The match is expected to take place on a larger court to accommodate the large crowd attracted by Serena and Venus, who are major stars. Serena returned to professional tennis after four years, but she lost her first singles match and injured her knee. She did not attend a press conference afterward due to health reasons and expressed her commitment to participating in the doubles event. Serena and Venus have won six doubles titles together, including a title in 2016.
Have the Swift and Kelce wedding ceremonies begun?
The article reports on the early wedding festivities of pop star Taylor Swift and football player Travis Kelce, which are said to have begun at the Madison Square Garden in New York. According to U.S. media citing sources close to the couple and event organizers, the pair had dinner the night before the main celebration, set to take place later that evening. The area around the pink-lit venue was heavily secured, with police presence and photographers gathering outside. While Swift and Kelce have not publicly commented on the event, several celebrities were spotted nearby, including Lena Dunham and Jack Antonoff. The article also notes that the couple has been engaged since August 2023 and has donated $26 million to charitable causes this week. It highlights their public profiles—Swift as one of music history’s most successful artists and Kelce as a three-time Super Bowl-winning NFL player.
Ukraine: Dispute over controversial heroes in planned national pantheon
The article discusses the planned establishment of a national pantheon by the Ukrainian parliament to honor outstanding figures in Ukrainian history. This initiative has sparked controversy, particularly in Poland, which objects to the project. The discussion takes place in a podcast episode titled 'Acht Milliarden,' where host Juan Moreno interviews Christian Esch, an Eastern Europe reporter for DER SPIEGEL. They explore how President Zelenskyy uses national remembrance to bridge traditional divisions between Western and Eastern Ukraine and examine the reasons behind the escalating dispute with Poland.
World Cup 2026 live: France against Sweden in the liveticker
The article titled 'WM 2026 live: Frankreich gegen Schweden im Liveticker' appears to be related to a football match between France and Sweden during the 2026 World Cup. However, the content provided does not include the actual article text but rather subscription information for SPIEGEL+. The text promotes digital subscriptions and offers pricing details for new customers, including a discounted rate for 4 weeks followed by a regular weekly fee. It also mentions additional benefits such as access to all S+ articles, the digital edition of SPIEGEL, and other features. There is no substantive news content available in the provided text.
News of the day: new national coach, 250th anniversary of the United States, reform package
The article covers three main topics. First, it discusses the potential appointment of Jürgen Klopp as the new German national football coach following Julian Nagelsmann's departure, highlighting the emotional responses from both coaches and the expectations surrounding Klopp's role. Second, it reports on the logistical challenges faced during preparations for the United States' 250th anniversary celebrations, including equipment failures and issues with the reflecting pool's appearance and cleanliness. Third, it mentions the complexity of understanding the recent reform package introduced by the federal government, though the discussion on this topic is cut off.
Due to radio interference, train service resumes after a complete shutdown.
On Tuesday evening, June 24, 2026, a nationwide disruption caused by a malfunction in Germany's digital railway communication system (GSM-R) brought all train traffic across the country to a complete halt. The outage lasted approximately two hours, stranding numerous passengers and creating long queues at train stations. By around 0:30 AM, the first trains resumed operation, but delays and service disruptions were expected to continue into Wednesday morning. Deutsche Bahn (DB) attributed the stoppage to a technical failure in the GSM-R network, which is critical for modern rail operations. While some passengers received taxi vouchers and hotel coupons, others reported difficulties finding accommodations, particularly in cities like Frankfurt. Despite efforts by IT specialists to resolve the issue quickly, DB did not provide detailed information about the cause of the malfunction. The incident affected not only passenger trains but also regional services, private railways, and freight traffic.
Parteitag der AfD: Ausnahmezustand in Erfurt erwartet
The article reports on the upcoming AfD party congress in Erfurt, Germany, which is expected to be marked by significant protests due to the party's controversial stance and recent racist remarks by some of its members. The AfD has faced criticism for its anti-immigration policies and alleged racism, with several politicians making derogatory comments about the German national football team, using terms historically associated with Nazi ideology. As a result, various civil society groups, including churches, unions, and human rights organizations, have organized peaceful demonstrations against the event. There are also calls for blockades, though authorities expect both peaceful protests and potential clashes. Thüringer Interior Minister Georg Maier has pledged to uphold the right to assembly for both the AfD and protesters. Meanwhile, internal party dynamics are highlighted, with the current leadership facing re-election and potential influence from more extreme factions within the party.
Frankfurt: Firefighters rescue window cleaners at the Commerzbank tower
In Frankfurt am Main, firefighters rescued two window cleaners who were stuck at a height of 240 meters on the Commerzbank Tower after their work basket became defective and could no longer move. Twenty-five firefighters were involved in the rescue operation, which was complicated by strong winds that pushed the basket up to eight meters away from the building's facade. The rescuers used battery-powered winches to lift the workers up 11 floors to safety. After the rescue, the fire department checked the building's facade using a drone and found no damage. According to the Commerzbank, the windows of the tower are cleaned three times a year. A height rescue instructor noted this might be the highest rescue operation ever conducted in an urban area in Germany.
Early World Cup exit for Germany: What went wrong?
Germany's football national team suffered an early exit from the World Cup by losing 3:4 to Paraguay in a penalty shootout during the round of 16. This marks the third consecutive failure to advance beyond the group stage at a World Cup, having previously been eliminated in the group phase in 2018 and 2022. The match ended 1:1 after extra time, with Germany's players failing to convert their penalties, including Kai Havertz, Nick Woltemade, and Jonathan Tah. Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer made strong saves but could not prevent the defeat. Since winning the World Cup in 2014, Germany has not won any knockout game at a World Cup. This was the first loss in a World Cup penalty shootout for the German team, which had previously won all four such encounters. Several key players underperformed, including captain Joshua Kimmich, Florian Wirtz, and Jamal Musiala, who struggled due to injury and poor form. Defensive issues and lack of attacking momentum were also significant factors. Injuries to players like Serge Gnabry and Lennart Karl further weakened the squad. Coach Julian Nagelsmann faced criticism for his tactical decisions, including retaining Kimmich as a right-back despite his struggles
Penelope Cruz wants to get her driver's license
Penélope Cruz, 52, has expressed fear of driving but is considering getting a driver's license after receiving a car as a gift from her friend Bono. She described having significant anxiety related to being in or operating vehicles, which she attributes to a traumatic childhood experience where her sister was hit by a car. Cruz mentioned this fear is common and has specific names in psychology—vehophobia for fear of driving and amaxophobia for fear of being in any vehicle. The article references an interview with Elle magazine and a YouTube appearance on 'Hot Ones.'
Stade: children after the act of Stade Orphans more than €600,000 donations
In Stade wurden am Montag in einer Jugendhilfeeinrichtung sechs Menschen tödlich verletzt, darunter eine 32-jährige Mutter, die für das Jugendamt arbeitete. Die beiden kleinen Geschwister, drei und vier Jahre alt, sind nun zu Vollwaisen geworden, da sowohl ihre Mutter als auch ihr Vater verstorben sind. Eine Spendenkampagne auf GoFundMe sammelte innerhalb von zwei Tagen über 630.000 Euro, um den Kindern einen sicheren Start ins Leben zu ermöglichen. Die Kampagne betont die Solidarität der Gemeinschaft und die Notwendigkeit von finanzieller Unterstützung für die Kinder. GoFundMe bestätigt die Echtheit des Aufrufs indirekt und garantiert, dass die Spenden nur an die richtigen Empfänger weitergeleitet werden.
Putin recognizes the oil map for the first time
Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged for the first time that Russia is building 'some oil reserves' during a meeting focused on energy issues. He emphasized the need to strengthen domestic oil production and increase output. Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces continued their attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, detonating an oil purification plant in the southern Krasnodar region, which produces around four million tons of crude oil annually. The Krasnodar region is one of Russia's largest oil-producing areas located near the Black Sea. On Tuesday, Ukrainian forces launched large-scale air strikes on Sevastopol, the largest city on Crimea, including attacks on oil facilities. In response, Russia, which annexed Crimea in 2014, has restricted fuel sales to the public to counteract the energy shortages. According to reports, these attacks have had no impact on the front line. During an interview with a Russian state television station, Putin described the Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil infrastructure as an attempt to destabilize Russian society. He stated that Ukraine's goal was to halt the deployment of Russian military units to improve their position in arms control talks.
AI data centres: tech lobby urges EU to ease up on climate rules
The European Union is considering significantly relaxing sustainability rules for AI data centers, according to reports by the Financial Times. Initially, the proposed regulations required data centers to use green energy certificates only if the electricity was generated at the same time and in the same price zone as their consumption, coming from facilities no older than ten years. This aimed to better align emissions offsetting with actual power supply and encourage new renewable energy projects. However, a revised draft, influenced by industry lobbying, would remove these requirements and potentially allow nuclear energy certificates, which would benefit countries like France. The changes could make it easier and cheaper for data centers to offset emissions using certificates, even with fossil fuel usage. The revised proposal is set for discussion among EU Commission representatives and energy experts but remains non-final. Meanwhile, companies like Amazon and Google report rising emissions due to expanding AI infrastructure, highlighting the tension between climate goals and technological growth.
Overlooked
Under-reported & one-sided
