May 23, 2026 #dwdocumentary#documentary#dwdocs

Nations once considered beacons of democracy are under attack. Many countries around the world are moving toward authoritarianism and jeopardizing once staunchly protected democratic values. Among them: the USA. The new DW documentary series, “Democracy Under Attack,” is an urgent look into the heart of these conflicts. It puts a spotlight on countries where democratic values have long been taken for granted. In an ever-increasingly fractured world, how resilient are today’s democracies?

Making sense of these questions is Turkish investigative journalist Can Dündar, who has lived in exile in Germany since 2016. In the DW Documentary original series, “Guardians of Truth,” he brought stories from Mexico, Belarus, and his home country, Turkey. He met people who, like him, faced the brutal consequences of corrupt institutions and the suppression of a free press. Having lived the realities of increasing authoritarianism firsthand, Dündar believes it’s time to sound the alarm that more and more democracies are under attack.

The premiere episode of “Democracy Under Attack: Can Dündar and Trump’s America” takes viewers to the United States. In 2026, the USA will celebrate the 250th anniversary of its founding. The country, which has often been called the cradle of modern democracy, is under enormous pressure: The political camps are almost irreconcilably opposed to each other.

For many observers, President Donald Trump is governing in an increasingly authoritarian manner, and he and his supporters fiercely attack their critics. In the film, directors Can Dündar and Demid Sheronkin meet one such person who has become a target. Mark Bray, a Rutgers professor, was denounced as “Dr. Antifa” and later received death threats after members from the right-wing youth organization Turning Point USA launched a petition to get him fired from the university. He and his family fled the country for Spain.

Moving between US college campuses and a political convention, talking to student activists, Turning Point USA members, and professors, the documentary presents a tense collision of competing visions of democracy. What is the state of freedom of expression and democracy in the United States of America? Is US democracy really in danger?