This page explains what Gegenwart24 does to make its website usable by everyone, including people with disabilities, and how you can get help if something does not work for you. It describes our commitment to WCAG 2.2 Level AA, outlines practical navigation features, and gives clear steps to report any issue.
What accessibility standards does Gegenwart24 follow?
Gegenwart24 aims to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 Level AA, the internationally recognised standard for digital accessibility. We regularly review our site against these criteria and prioritise fixes that have the greatest impact on real-world use.
Our editorial and technical teams work together to ensure that new features and content are tested for accessibility before publication. We consider this an ongoing process, not a one-time certification. The guidelines cover four principles: perceivable, operable, understandable and robust. We assess each article, interactive element and media file against these principles.
How can I navigate and interact with the site?
You can use your keyboard to move through every part of Gegenwart24. All interactive elements – links, buttons, forms and media controls – are reachable by pressing the Tab key, and a visible focus ring highlights the element currently selected.
We have set colour contrasts that exceed the minimum ratios required by WCAG 2.2 Level AA for normal text and large text. Text can be resized up to 200 per cent without loss of content or functionality. If you prefer reduced motion, the site respects your operating system setting and suppresses non-essential animations, such as auto-playing carousels or decorative transitions.
Screen-reader users will find appropriate landmark regions and semantic heading levels (h1 to h4) that reflect the page structure. We also provide descriptive alternative text for meaningful images and transcripts for video content where feasible.
What are the known limitations?
Some older articles published before our accessibility review may contain images without full alternative text, or complex data tables that are not fully marked up. These items are being updated as part of our regular content audit.
Third-party embedded content – such as social-media posts, interactive maps or survey tools – may not always meet our own accessibility standards. Where we rely on such services, we test them for core functionality and provide textual alternatives when possible. We document known issues internally and prioritise replacements or workarounds.
How this works in practice
Consider an article about the Swedish budget that includes a bar chart showing revenue sources. A sighted reader can see the bars and their labels. A screen-reader user will hear the chart described in a data table that lists each category, its value and percentage. The same information is also available in a separate plain-text summary below the graphic. A keyboard-only user can tab through the chart’s interactive legend to toggle data sets on and off. The focus ring remains visible throughout. If the user has reduced motion enabled, the chart appears immediately without fade-in animation. This approach – offering multiple ways to perceive the same information – is how we apply WCAG 2.2 Level AA across the entire site.
Who owns and operates Gegenwart24?
Gegenwart24 is owned and operated by Gegenwart24 Media Ltd., a private company registered in Gibraltar (company number C 92009, Malta Business Registry). The registered office is Office 9, Business Centre, Valletta, 0000. The publication was founded in 2024 and provides independent Swedish news in German for readers in Sweden and internationally. Editorial decisions are made independently of commercial partners, and our team is listed on the Our Team page.
How do I report an accessibility issue or request help?
If you encounter a barrier on our website – whether a missing heading, a broken keyboard path, or any other problem – please contact our accessibility team at accessibility@gegenwart24.de. We will acknowledge your message within two working days and aim to resolve the issue or provide a reasonable workaround within ten working days.
You can also reach us through our general Contact page, via our Complaints Procedure for formal concerns, or by referring to our Editorial Policy for content-related accessibility matters. We treat every report seriously and use it to improve the site for all users.
In short
Gegenwart24 is committed to making its journalism accessible to everyone, and we follow WCAG 2.2 Level AA as our practical benchmark. We publish known limitations honestly and invite you to report any difficulty so that we can fix it. Our accessibility email – accessibility@gegenwart24.de – is the fastest way to get help.