Sat May 31: Occupation of media park in front of NOS headquarters
On Saturday May 31, we occupied the Hilversum media park in front of the NOS headquarters with hundreds of rebels. We demand that NOS takes its responsibility with honest reporting without misleading frames, without fake neutrality, and without false balance. If not, we will keep coming back. So, get involved and join us. NOS, Tell The Truth!
Extinction Rebellion stands firm for press freedom. Whether it is about the climate and ecological crisis or the genocide in Gaza, we need our press to not be guided by the interests of governments and big polluting companies, but that fearlessly tells the truth. Therefore, we demand that NOS, the broadcaster we all pay taxes for, takes its responsibility. NOS, Tell The Truth! Stop using misleading frames and fake neutrality, stop hiding behind false balance. The Netherlands deserves honest reporting, including a weekly climate newscast that focuses on climate justice.
—Laura Kits, spokesperson Extinction Rebellion
Weekly climate news is dire necessity
During street conversations, rebels note how poorly informed many Dutch people are about the climate and ecological crisis, about the West’s responsibility for it, and about its consequences, for example for water supplies or health. Here lies a clear task for the press. That is why Extinction Rebellion demands a weekly NOS climate newscast, in which climate science is explained comprehensibly and attention is paid to the global causes and consequences of the climate and ecological crisis. NOS must let people in the Global South have their say so that our responsibility is no longer glossed over. They are on the frontlines of the fight against destruction. Indigenous groups, for example, protect 80% of the remaining biodiversity while making up only 5% of the world’s population.
Misleading frames, fears of “climate alarmism”
Reporting must provide a clear and honest picture so that everyone knows what is going on in the world, what dangers we face, and what action is needed. This must go beyond the facts alone. It should be about interpreting them honestly and responsibly. Back in 2019, The Guardian’s Climate Pledge provided an example of what the pursuit of such reporting can look like. Unfortunately, NOS is failing to do so. NOS’s coverage of the climate and environmental crisis, for example, is downright misleading.
An exploratory study by Solid Sustainability Research shows that during the period from October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2024, NOS mentioned the term “climate change” in only 22% of articles that dealt with extreme weather. Of these articles, climate change was mentioned in the headline in only 11% of cases. NOS lists facts, such as temperatures, precipitation, and drought, and leaves out interpretation. It is no excuse that there is no one-to-one relationship between weather and climate. NOS needs to provide context by repeatedly stating that the climate crisis is the most likely cause of extreme weather.
Recent examples show that little has changed since this study. March 21, 2025 was an extremely hot day. The NOS article about it contains pictures of people enjoying the sun and revolves solely around figures related to temperature. As a reader, you’d have no idea how disastrous the climate and ecological crisis is and how urgent action is needed to prevent further heating. That same day, RTL News showed how it should be done with an extensive article including an appropriate photo of a forest fire.
Fake neutrality and false balance
Where the problem with NOS’s reporting on climate and environmental issues can often be traced to misleading frames, there is also fake neutrality and false balance in reporting on the genocide in Gaza. In an April 2 article, NOS calls the genocide in Gaza an “offensive” and writes about “attacks” and “troop movements”. This example of fake neutrality glosses over the fact that Israel is committing war crimes and human rights violations. That NOS leaves out UN-recognized evidence of war crimes and genocide by Israel gives readers the impression that this is an “ordinary conflict”. NOS also leaves out the verdict of Amnesty International, which determined as early as December 5, 2024, that genocide is taking place in Gaza.
In an example of false balance, NOS paraphrases reports from Palestinian media. They “reported a large wave of attacks in Rafah and Khan Younis last night”. This gives the appearance of two sides of a story, while only pulling one fact from Palestinian reporting that supports the NOS frame. The report of Israel’s “call to evacuate areas” then in no way reflects the severity of the genocide, and creates the impression of something like “responsible warfare”, when in many cases evacuation is not even possible.
NOS annual report: use of taxpayer money
NOS is not just another news source. The broadcaster is funded with public money. In return, NOS has to make sure that everyone is aware, or at least can be aware, of what is going on in the world and what dangers humanity is already facing. The climate and ecological crisis is the greatest threat to people worldwide. Since we announced the occupation, NOS has published several articles in quick succession in its climate dossier, after four months without. This shows that NOS realizes that its reporting needs to improve, although the broadcaster may not yet be willing to admit that publicly.
Given the importance of NOS’s public service mission — lives literally depend on it — it would be obvious that this should be reflected in NOS’s spending of public money. Unfortunately, NOS sets other priorities. Precious time and resources are spent on coverage of sports like soccer and cycling. In 2023, a “cheap” year due to the absence of “super events” of which the broadcasting rights are very expensive, almost as much money went to sports (€81 million) as to journalism (€87 million). In 2022, significantly more money went to sports than to journalism: €125 million versus €81 million. A terrible situation. NOS should instead allocate extra money to improve news and background reporting and to bring marginalized voices and groups into focus.