On February 12, Der Spiegel, one of the largest news magazines in Germany, published a video titled “Protests Against Jews.” Its focus was a pro-Palestine protest at the Free University (FU), Berlin’s largest such institution. The video opens with a rainbow-haired man throwing water from a beer bottle at the cameraman and shouting, “Bitte schön, f*** off!”

“The leader of the protest calls himself H. P. Loveshaft, identifies as trans, uses the pronouns he/it, and quote ‘came eye to eye with the cosmic anus,'” the narrator grimly intones, while photos of H. P. in drag taken from his Instagram and website scroll across the screen.

On May 21, Bild — a Berlin-based tabloid with a higher circulation than any other newspaper in Europe — printed an article identifying what it called “The Hard Core of Israel Haters.” In it appear the faces and names of various people who have attended pro-Palestine protests in Berlin. Bild identifies them as terrorist supporters and, implicitly, as antisemites. H. P. Loveshaft’s colorful hair appears halfway down the page, his face contorted as his hands are pulled behind him by the police. “H. P. Loveshaft behaves ever more aggressively at pro-Palestine protests,” writes Bild, “attacking journalists or screaming at the police.” It complains that his work is funded by a public performing arts fund — “our taxes.”