Das NETTZ, launched at the betterplace lab in 2017 and spun off as an independent gGmbH in August 2022, convenes civil‑society projects that combat online hate. It maintains a resource portal and from 2021 to 2024 ran the federally funded Working Group “Against Hate on the Internet,” which tracked extremist activity in real time. Since 2025 it has belonged to the six‑member Network Against Online Hate and Disinformation with the Society for Media Education and Communication Culture (GMK), HateAid, the REspect! Reporting Center, New German Media Makers, and the Jena Institute for Democracy and Civil Society (IDZ).
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Das Nettz
Robert Bosch Stiftung, Stiftung Mercator, German Postcode Lottery, German Federal...See all
Robert Bosch Stiftung, Stiftung Mercator, German Postcode Lottery, German Federal Program 'Living Democracy!' [Demokratie leben!] See less
Community Event Against Online Hate, Working Group “Against Hate on the Internet"
Society for Media Education and Communication Culture (GMK), HateAid, REspect! Reporting Center, New German Media Makers [Neue deutsche Medienmacher*innen e.V.], The Institute for Democracy and Civil Society, Toneshift - Network Against Online Hate and Disinformation, Betterplace Lab , Don't Scroll Away [ScrollNichtWeg], Klicksafe, Modus|Zad [Modus Center for Applied Deradicalization Research], NEOVEX
Commentary:
Das NETTZ casts itself as the convening point for Germany’s "digital civil courage" sector. Its website lists more than a hundred partner initiatives, promotes a yearly Community Event and distributes small grants, positioning the group as broker rather than frontline actor. Financial backing has come from the Robert Bosch Stiftung, Stiftung Mercator and successive family‑ministry programs, a flow that mirrors Berlin’s move to treat online hate as a matter for social engineering. The new six‑partner alliance launched in 2025 extends that model: pooled branding, shared contacts, regular briefings. What remains unclear is how a clearinghouse dependent on federal and foundation money can press platform firms or lawmakers with genuine independence. Das NETTZ coordinates, curates, convenes, yet risks becoming another conduit for top‑down messaging disguised as neutral arbiter of civil society.
Das NETTZ casts itself as the convening point for Germany’s "digital civil courage" sector. Its website lists more than a hundred partner initiatives, promotes a yearly Community Event and distributes small grants, positioning the group as broker rather than frontline actor. Financial backing has come from the Robert Bosch Stiftung, Stiftung Mercator and successive family‑ministry programs, a flow that mirrors Berlin’s move to treat online hate as a matter for social engineering. The new six‑partner alliance launched in 2025 extends that model: pooled branding, shared contacts, regular briefings. What remains unclear is how a clearinghouse dependent on federal and foundation money can press platform firms or lawmakers with genuine independence. Das NETTZ coordinates, curates, convenes, yet risks becoming another conduit for top‑down messaging disguised as neutral arbiter of civil society.
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