Este sitio web fue traducido automáticamente. Para obtener más información, por favor haz clic aquí.

German police searched homes and questioned suspects as part of an annual nationwide crackdown against online hate speech, authorities said Wednesday.

Police carried out 91 operations in 14 German states.

In the central state of Hesse, officers investigated three women and six men, ages 17 to 72, prosecutors said. The allegations against them include incitement to hatred, defamation and libel.

GERMANY MEETS WITH EUROPEAN UNION, EUROPEAN COUNTRIES IN EFFORT TO CURB MIGRATION VIA BALKAN ROUTE

Germany has staged annual police raids against online hate speech since 2016.

Nancy Faeser

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, above, at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, on Nov. 30, 2022. Authorities in Germany say police have searched homes and questioned suspects as part of an annual nationwide crackdown against online hate speech. Faeser claims crimes committed on social media provide "fertile ground for extremist violence." (Michael Kappeler/dpa via AP)

The country's top security official, Nancy Faeser, said in a statement that crimes committed on social media, messaging apps and Internet forums provide "fertile ground for extremist violence."

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

"We need to draw clear lines here and get the culprits out of their supposed anonymity," she said.

Federal police say more than 2,000 politically motivated crimes committed online are recorded each year in Germany, but the actual figure is likely to be much higher because many illegal postings aren't reported to authorities or take place in closed groups.