By Hektor Haarkötter
The Initiative Nachrichtenaufklärung (INA) e.V. has once again presented a list of stories that have been neglected by the German media in the current year: the Top Ten Forgotten News Stories of 2026. Each year, a jury of scholars, practicing journalists, and students selects the ten most important topics from a large number of suggestions compiled by student research groups. The public is invited to submit topic suggestions if they concern issues that affect a large group of people but receive little or no coverage in the media. These suggestions are reviewed in a multi-stage process and prepared for voting by the jury. INA also conducts accompanying scientific research on neglected news. It uses the concept of »agenda cutting« as a theoretical framework for understanding news neglect. Drawing on the concept of agenda setting in communication research, agenda cutting theory posits that issues of high relevance to large parts of society are systematically ignored in everyday journalism. The reasons for this can lie both within journalism itself and in external pressures. These include economic considerations, such as the need to protect advertisers or the fear of lawsuits. A more recent threat to news diversity arises from the selection criteria embedded in algorithms and artificial intelligence, which steer news flows on the internet in largely non-transparent ways (cf. Haarkötter & Nieland, 2023).
Top 1: Much better than their reputation – African countries with high levels of development
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a more comprehensive measure of a country’s level of development than gross national product (GNP) or gross domestic product (GDP), as it incorporates indicators of health and education in addition to economic performance. According to the HDI, the African island states of Seychelles and Mauritius rank above the global average, with several other African countries not far behind. Nevertheless, media coverage often paints a one-sided picture of Africa as predominantly poor and underdeveloped.
Top 2: Poisoned – Microplastics in farmland
Microplastics enter farmland through sewage sludge, compost, improper waste disposal, and slow-release fertilizers. This contamination damages soil quality, disrupts water balance, and harms soil organisms. In the long term, it also threatens the human food chain. Despite its significance, the issue receives little media attention, partly because research is still at an early stage and reliable data remain limited.
Top 3: In bureaucratic no man’s land – Stateless persons fail to get help from German authorities
In 2022, an estimated 97,000 people with unresolved citizenship status were living in Germany, and the number is rising. Many stateless persons work and pay taxes but remain in a vulnerable legal position and often wait years for their status to be clarified. Reasons include inconsistent guidelines and overburdened authorities. As a result, those affected face great uncertainty and are often largely excluded from social and political life. Media coverage of the causes, conditions, and consequences of statelessness remains limited.
Top 4: A profitable business – German companies undermine measures for the inclusion of people with disabilities
Instead of fulfilling their legal obligation to employ people with disabilities, many German companies prefer to pay a compensatory levy. This weakens efforts to integrate people with disabilities into the labor market. At the same time, the system can benefit employers: the levy can be reduced by purchasing goods or services from sheltered workshops. Because employees in these workshops often work below minimum wage, the products are comparatively inexpensive. Companies therefore benefit twice, while exclusion and precarious working conditions persist.
Top 5: Not accessible – Political information remains closed off for people with disabilities
Citizens with disabilities show an above-average interest in politics. Despite legal requirements mandating accessibility, many are effectively excluded from political information and thus from democratic participation. None of the 322 websites of public authorities examined by the Federal Monitoring Agency for Accessibility of Information Technology (BFIT-Bund) meet the legal standards for accessibility. While specialized outlets report on this issue, this structural deficit has received little attention in mainstream media.
Top 6: Law Clinics – Legal advice services supporting disadvantaged people
Law clinics provide socially disadvantaged groups with access to justice while allowing aspiring lawyers to develop practical skills. For many people seeking advice, these free services represent their only access to reliable legal support. However, law clinics rarely receive media attention, meaning many potential users remain unaware of their existence.
Top 7: Child labor – Exploited on tobacco plantations
Millions of children work under dangerous conditions for the tobacco industry. This form of child labor is referred to as exploitative child labor: the children affected suffer massive mental, physical, social, and moral damage. Hours of contact with tobacco plants lead to direct absorption of nicotine through the skin, which can result in green tobacco sickness (GTS), i.e., acute nicotine poisoning. This disease develops particularly quickly in children because they have thinner skin and lower body weight compared with adults. Estimates suggest that at least 1.3 million children worldwide work on such plantations. Child labor on tobacco plantations is an overlooked form of modern exploitation that is virtually unreported by German media.
Top 8: Overshadowing – When people with mental illness do not receive adequate physical examinations
People who have already been diagnosed with a mental illness are not given adequate physical examinations, leading to serious illnesses being detected too late or not at all. This failure to properly diagnose is known in medicine as »diagnostic overshadowing« – the mental illness overshadows a possible physical illness. The consequences can be severe, potentially placing people with mental illness at disproportionate risk due to insufficient medical care. Media coverage of these diagnostic failures remains limited.
Top 9: Imprisoned – Mental health consequences of pretrial detention
People in pre-trial detention in Germany are placed in a legally exceptional situation that can cause considerable psychological stress. However, media rarely report on the mental health consequences of the sudden loss of freedom and social support experienced before any conviction has been reached. Greater attention should be given to both individual experiences and the structural factors contributing to psychological stress in pretrial detention.
Top 10: Arbitration tribunals – How influential corporations are undermining the sovereignty of states
International corporations increasingly use private arbitration tribunals to enforce their interests against states. These tribunals are intended to protect investors from arbitrary state actions within the framework of international trade agreements. However, they have effectively created a parallel private justice system that can limit the regulatory power of states. Transparency organizations and human rights groups have long warned about the risks of investor–state dispute settlement (ISDS) proceedings. These procedures are often conducted in secrecy, without public oversight or participation by affected parties. A key concern is the »regulatory chill« effect: governments may refrain from adopting strict regulations for fear of costly lawsuits. Despite its significance, this systemic issue receives little media attention.
References
Haarkötter, Hektor & Nieland, Jörg-Uwe (Eds.). (2023). Agenda Cutting. Wenn Themen von der Tagesordnung verschwinden. Springer VS.
About the author
Hektor Haarkötter, Prof. Dr., teaches communication studies with a focus on political communication at Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences. He is the chairman of the Initiative Nachrichtenaufklärung (INA) e.V. Contact: hektor.haarkoetter@h-brs.de
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Citation
Hektor Haarkötter: Acute cases of media failure. The Initiative Nachrichtenaufklärung (INA) e.V. selects the Top Ten Forgotten News Stories of 2026. In: Journalism Research, Vol. 9 (1), 2026, pp. 63-67. DOI: 10.1453/2569-152X-12026-15959-en
ISSN
2569-152X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1453/2569-152X-12026-15959-en
First published online
April 2026