by Dean Miller and Nicholas Muller
Did Germany designate Antifa a "Domestic Terror Group" in October of 2025, as a story on a U.S. website claims? No, that's not true: The headline on the website's story grossly exaggerates the website's own story, which describes one regional political party's debate over a position paper. There is no public record that Germany's parliament adopted such measure, nor did Germany's president issue such a decree. The website that published the claim features a standing disclaimer that it takes no responsibility for the accuracy of its contents.
The rumor appeared in an October 26, 2025 article (archived here) published by The People's Voice titled "Germany Officially Designates Antifa a 'Domestic Terror Group'" which opened:
Germany is set to officially designate Antifa as a 'domestic terrorist group' as a historic vote takes place over the weekend to ban the far-left group from the country.
Here's what the article looked like on the website at the time this fact check was written:
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of The People's Voice web page.)
The article under the exaggerated headline reports the terror designation was a political party's talking point in just one of Germany's 16 states:
In Germany's largest state, Bavaria, the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) is set to vote this weekend on a proposal to make Antifa a terrorist group ...
The weekend of October 25, 2025, the far-right AfD Party's members in Bavaria did declare Antifa should be banned, according to this report by the German Press Agency, published in Die Zeit (archived here), translated by Lead Stories' German-speaking staff:
... the Bavarian AfD is calling for the classification of the so-called Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization and its subsequent banning. A corresponding motion was passed almost unanimously by the members present ...
But, that vote only expresses the political party's Bavarian branch's support for such a ban and does not amount to a ban either in Bavaria or all of Germany, as the headline declares in The People's Voice.
To double-check, Lead Stories' German-speaking staff searched the German Republic's lists of banned groups and materials of the domestic intelligence agency (Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz) and Ministry of the Interior. Antifa is not labelled a terrorist organization, according to the 2024 report by the Ministry of Interior on protection of the constitution (archived here).
AfD members in the national parliament, the Bundestag, in October of 2025 proposed a ban on Antifa, but reports by the weekly "Das Parlament" (archived here) showed the ban met with strong opposition from other parties represented in the Bundestag. The proposal has been referred to a parliamentary committee, which means it is a proposal in process and not an adopted policy of the Republic of Germany.
The company that publishes The People's Voice web outlet does not promise accuracy. The page includes this disclaimer, saying the company:
... AND/OR ITS SUPPLIERS MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS ABOUT THE SUITABILITY, RELIABILITY, AVAILABILITY, TIMELINESS, AND ACCURACY OF THE INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND RELATED GRAPHICS CONTAINED ON THE SITE FOR ANY PURPOSE.
