Guest post by Naomi Seibt
What do the Smurfs have in common with Germany? They are blue. And so is Germany.
This is the controversial statement that got a girl pulled out of the classroom by the school’s principal Jan-Dirk Zimmermann who confronted her with three policemen because she had the audacity to post it on TikTok. You might be wondering, surely this must be some kind of provocative reference with an outrageous backstory.
Let me solve the riddle:
Blue is the color that represents the political party AfD (Alternative for Germany), the only strong right-wing opposition in Germany. It has generated a substantially growing following over the last years, but systemic media continue to shun it for its “racist,” “queer-phobic,” “climate denialist,” “anti-vax” views. Sounds familiar? Yes, the AfD is the equivalent of free-speech-promoting patriotic right-wing movements all over the world.
In the TikTok, the girl Loretta, without revealing her face, states that the Smurfs and Germany have something in common (they are both blue) and displays the map of Germany in bold shades of blue with a statistic showing the AfD’s popularity.
The principal, Zimmermann, immediately took drastic measures and called the police, telling them that Loretta was promoting “potentially anti-constitutional content”. The girl was issued a “formal police warning” as a preventive measure against “incitement.”
Let me remind you that the AfD is a legitimate, highly popular political party that has been subjected to absurd fear-mongering and defamation by the legacy media and the left-leaning political sphere, which is currently dominating the German government. How the Smurfs video could possibly violate the Constitution is almost comical!
Comical, if it wasn’t so serious. Such a humiliating experience must have been terrifying for the girl. She probably did not expect this male authoritative figure to scroll through his students’ TikToks during class, nor should he! He allegedly received a confidential “clue” from a parent, but what could that have involved? The idea that there was anything dangerously controversial about this TikTok is so absurd that the principal should have brushed it off immediately. He had no business peeking at her TikTok content out of curiosity, whether that be political or private. Not to accuse Zimmermann of anything highly inappropriate, but perhaps the police should have stayed to look through his hard drive…
Just a “formal police warning” as a preventive measure, of course! What goes around, comes around.
Was veranlasst einen Schuldirektor dazu, sich während des Unterrichts die TikToks einer Schülerin anzusehen??? Die Polizei hätte länger bleiben und sich die Festplatte ansehen sollen!
— Naomi Seibt (@SeibtNaomi) March 15, 2024
Once the Smurfs scandal sparked public outrage, the policemen downplayed the events and claimed that they had made efforts to keep the interrogation as discreet as possible. Allegedly, Loretta’s classmates had “not even noticed” the officers.
As it turns out, that was a lie.
Loretta and her mother were interviewed to share their perspective:
Loretta: “All the voices fell silent and everyone stared at me – it was the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to me“
Annett B.: “Numerous pupils were eyewitnesses. At no time did they seem to have thought about how the matter could be discussed discreetly and anonymously.”
Loretta, what was it really like?
Loretta: My mother is right. I felt everyone’s stinging eyes on me. It was the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to me.
Annett B.: “You can criticize our conservative political views, you can reject them, find them wrong and reprehensible, we respect that. But to call the police because of a pupil’s opinion – that’s simply unbelievable!
And then to take her out of class and escort her through the school like a criminal and, on top of that, to spread the word in the press afterward that it was necessary to conduct a kind of “endangerment talk“ (Preventive police measure) with her and thus portray a completely innocent minor as a potential criminal in front of the whole world – do these people actually realize what they are doing?”
Furthermore, the police defended the intervention with “§ 13 SOG M-V” :
“The regulatory authorities and the police are required, within the framework of applicable laws, to take the necessary measures at their discretion to avert dangers to the general public or individuals, threatening public safety or order.”
When asked what those allegations might entail, the police had to admit that, technically, Loretta had committed no offense. However, her actions might possibly fall under or lead to the violation of § 86a or § 130 StGB. This includes showing anti-constitutional or terroristic symbols (for example, the Swastika) and hate crimes such as calling for violence against a certain population.
The minister for home affairs, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (member of the left-wing party SPD), disagrees that the measures taken by the police were disproportionate by any means. After all, she was not escorted out of the classroom in handcuffs. That is literally what he said.
Of course, the true harm that was caused to Loretta’s confidence and her sense of safety is ignored by the legacy media, the police, and political spokespeople who despise the AfD. Loretta was utterly discouraged from continuing any advocacy for her political views.
Loretta: I promised them what they wanted.
Why did you do that? If your description is correct, it was extra-legal, political intimidation.
Loretta: Because I stopped making the videos anyway.
Loretta: Because they kept getting deleted months ago, even though I had read up on them and made sure I didn’t accidentally post anything unauthorized. But it didn’t help, and it’s no fun when everything you’ve worked hard to create disappears again. While by the way, AfD criticism and anti-AfD agitation remains on Tiktok, for example: “AfDler töten“ (“Kill AfDers“)
Indeed, the AfD is currently Germany’s most strongly represented party on TikTok. Most likely because there is hardly any neutral or positive news coverage about the AfD in the mainstream media. Obviously, that is a threat to the monopoly of the establishment.
“Between January 2022 and December 2023, TikTok videos from the official channel of the AfD (Alternative for Germany) Bundestag faction reached an average of 430,000 impressions per video. The FDP (Free Democratic Party) reached around 53,000, while the remaining parties were even further behind. Impressions indicate how often the content was displayed to users.”
Let’s make sure Loretta and brave teenagers like her do not drown in the tyrannical intimidation from authorities who disapprove of their political opinions! That is censorship on an absolutely harrowing level – psychological terror against children.
Now even Elon Musk has taken note of the situation:
Really, that’s all?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 15, 2024
Smurfs-Gate is an international scandal. Germany is reminded of the policies that were put in place to silence and terrify dissidents in the DDR, the Eastern part of Germany under socialist rule behind the famous Berlin Wall during the Cold War.
The original TikTok video may have been deleted – but Loretta’s allies all over the world continue to share and talk about it. This was a teenager’s quiet attempt to demonstrate that numerous AfD supporters like her already exist. She sparked hope for like-minded individuals – and the spark grew into an international fire of support for Loretta.