MPs want to scrap far-right TV show over “Hitler was right” item

The Dutch broadcaster Ongehoord Nederland (ON!) is facing renewed pressure to have its licence revoked following a controversial segment of their panel show, Let’s Twist Again. The segment featured a clip of Adolf Hitler denouncing a "rootless international clique" and invited comments from panelists Joost Niemöller and Raisa Blommestijn.

Both agreed that the "cosmopolitan elite" was hostile towards indigenous people. Culture Minister Rianne Letschert received over 20 complaints about the segment since it was uploaded on July 31, with Pro MP Mohammed Mohandis calling it an example of the broadcaster deliberately flouting basic standards. ON!'s director-general admitted that the channel had "not paid enough attention to the sensitivities around this subject" and should have approached the topic more carefully.

Despite Niemöller and Blommestijn expressing disgust for Hitler's regime, ON! has been repeatedly called to have its licence withdrawn since its inception in 2022. The channel has faced fines for broadcasting misleading information and discriminatory language in an advertisement for an editor-in-chief position. Blommestijn herself received a criminal conviction for discrimination for a social media post using the term "negroid primates" to describe black men.

While some MPs from various parties have called for Letschert not to renew ON!'s licence next year, the minister stated that the legal position is complex due to the public broadcasting service NPO not requesting the revocation. The channel's future will be part of a parliamentary debate on September 24.