Austria’s social democrats want to fund media subscriptions for young voters
Austria Democratic Party digital Elections Markets Media
Pierre Emmanuel Ngendakumana
The party, which placed third in the recent European election, is hoping to attract more young voters ahead of a September national ballot.
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POLITICO
The Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) has proposed to fund newspaper subscriptions for readers aged 16-30 in a bid “to combat fake news.”

“Every day we are flooded with contradictory or unconfirmed news. We need high-quality and critical journalism that is available to all citizens free of charge,” the SPÖ, which is currently in opposition, said in a statement. “With a new subscription model, we want to … facilitate access to information and journalism.”

According to Reporters without Borders (RSF), the poor financial health of Austria’s quality media has prompted calls “for the urgent adoption of a new law on press subsidies.”

“This would allow public funds to be allocated on the basis of the quality of media content rather than on the basis of circulation, as is currently the case,” RSF said.

The SPÖ proposes that the state would subsidize up to €150 per year of media subscriptions for every 16 to 30-year-old Austrian.

According to a 2024 digital news report conducted by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism together with Oxford University, only 35 percent of Austrian respondents expressed trust in the news, the lowest level seen in the country since its 2015 inclusion in the report.

Austria holds national elections in late September. At the European polls, in which Austrians elected 20 representatives to the European Parliament, the SPÖ placed third with 23.2 percent support behind the Austrian People’s Party (24.5 percent) and the Freedom Party of Austria (25.4 percent).

In a bid to attract more young voters ahead of the national ballot, the SPÖ also wants to offer free access to football games.

“Football belongs to all of us and must be freely accessible to everyone,” party leader Andi Babler said.